English [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
From inn + mate , or from in- + mate .
Pronunciation [ edit ]
inmate (plural inmates )
A person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict ) or hospital (as a patient ).
A person who shares a residence (such as a hotel guest , a lodger , or a student living on campus ), or other place .
1852 July, Herman Melville , “Book XVI. First Night of Their Arrival in the City.”, in Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities , New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers , [ … ] , →OCLC , section I, pages 312–313 :[T]he inmates of the coach, by numerous hard, painful joltings, and ponderous, dragging trundlings, are suddenly made sensible of some great change in the character of the road.
Usage notes [ edit ]
Perhaps around 1970, television journalists began to use the word as a euphemism for prisoner , and this has become the primary, if not only, definition among younger generations. When speaking of persons receiving medical services, patient may be preferred instead.
Derived terms [ edit ]
Translations [ edit ]
one confined to institution, such as a prison
Arabic: سَجِين m ( sajīn ) , سَجِينَة f ( sajīna )
Armenian: please add this translation if you can
Catalan: intern (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 囚犯 (zh) ( qiúfàn ) , 病人 (zh) ( bìngrén ) ( hospital )
Czech: vězeň (cs) m , pacient (cs) m
Dutch: gedetineerde (nl) , gevangene (nl)
Esperanto: enfermito , kaptito , malliberulo , prizonulo
Finnish: vanki (fi)
French: détenu (fr) m , détenue (fr) f , codétenu (fr) m , codétenue (fr) f
German: Insasse (de) m , Insassin (de) f
Greek: τρόφιμος (el) c ( trófimos )
Italian: detenuto (it) m , internato (it) m , prigioniero (it) m
Macedonian: затвореник m ( zatvorenik )
Polish: więzień (pl) m , więźniarka (pl) f
Portuguese: interno (pt) m
Russian: заключённый (ru) m ( zaključónnyj ) , заключённая (ru) f ( zaključónnaja ) ( prison ) , пацие́нт (ru) m ( pacién ) , пацие́нтка (ru) f ( paciéntka ) ( patient in a hospital )
Spanish: internado (es) m , interno (es) m , preso (es) m , recluso m , presidiario (es) m , reo (es) m , convicto m , detenido (es) m
Turkish: mukim (tr) , yusufiyeli
Ukrainian: в'я́зень (uk) ( vʺjázenʹ ) , ув'я́знений (uk) m ( uvʺjáznenyj ) , паціє́нт m ( pacijént )
one who occupies a dwelling-house
Arabic: سَاكِن (ar) m ( sākin ) , سَاكِنَة f ( sākina )
Bulgarian: обита́тел (bg) m ( obitátel ) , обита́телка f ( obitátelka )
Catalan: resident (ca) m or f
French: résident (fr) m , résidente (fr) f , pensionnaire (fr) m or f
German: Bewohner (de) m , Bewohnerin (de) f
Hindi: भीतरिया (hi) ( bhītriyā ) , साकिन (hi) ( sākin ) , सहनिवासी ( sahnivāsī ) , अन्तःवासी ( antaḥvāsī ) , सहवासी (hi) ( sahvāsī ) , सहवर्ती (hi) ( sahvartī ) , निवासी (hi) ( nivāsī ) , वासी (hi) ( vāsī ) , संवासी (hi) ( samvāsī )
Italian: interno (it) m , residente (it) m
Polish: współmieszkaniec m
Russian: жи́тель (ru) m ( žítelʹ ) , жи́тельница (ru) f ( žítelʹnica ) , обита́тель (ru) m ( obitátelʹ ) , обита́тельница (ru) f ( obitátelʹnica )
Spanish: residente (es) m or f
Ukrainian: ме́шканець m ( méškanecʹ ) , пожиле́ць m ( požylécʹ ) , жиле́ць m ( žylécʹ )
Anagrams [ edit ]