inmate

English

Etymology

From inn +‎ mate, or from in- +‎ mate.

Noun

inmate (plural inmates)

1. A person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict) or hospital (as a patient)
2. A person who occupies or dwells within a dwelling-house. The word came to be used to refer to temporary inhabitants such as guests in a hotel, students in an on-campus dormitory, patients in a hospital, or prisoners.

Usage notes

Perhaps around 1970, television journalists began to use the word as a euphemism for "prisoner", and today perhaps many young people cannot remember that it ever had any other meaning.

Translations

one confined to institution, such as a prison

• Dutch: gedetineerde (nl), gevangene (nl)
• Esperanto: enfermito (eo), kaptito (eo), malliberulo (eo), prizonulo (eo)

• Finnish: vanki (fi)
• French: détenu (fr) m, détenue (fr) f, codétenu (fr) m, codétenue (fr) f
• Greek: τρόφιμος (el) (trófimos) c 

one who occupies a dwelling-house

• French: résident (fr) m, résidente (fr) f, pensionnaire (fr) m and f

Anagrams

• taimen
• Tamien