Zealander

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A native or inhabitant of New Zealand
2. Someone who comes from or resides in New Zealand
3. A person born in or belonging to New Zealand

Etymology: "Zealander" is formed from "Zealand" plus the suffix "-er," which marks a person connected to a place. "Zealand" is the English name for the Dutch province of Zeeland, and in English the Zealander is a native or inhabitant of that region. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the place name: it descends from Latin "-arius," which denoted an occupation or association, passed through Old French "-ier" and Middle English "-er," and so the same ending that gives us "baker" or "farmer" also tags a person by origin. Because English already had a native ending for this job, the word needed no special invention. "Zealander" is a plain, transparent compound, and its meaning follows directly from its parts: a person from Zealand. The wider word family is equally straightforward, since the same suffix produces "Icelander" and "Dutchman"-style formations across the language.