Etymology
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From inn + mate, or from in- + mate.
Pronunciation
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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
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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
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Translations
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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)
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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)
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Anagrams
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