Why do Brits and Americans have a special term instead of just using Immigrant?

  • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    Immigrant would be someone coming to your country, emigrant is someone leaving your country. So an expat would be an emigrant if anything. I’ve always assumed that it’s short for ex-patriot, since they left their country to go live in another one.

    • ylph@lemmy.world
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      25 days ago

      Expat is short for expatriate, not ex-patriot. Both expatriate and patriot do come from the same Latin root (patria, fatherland) via French.

      But yes, expatriate means someone who lives outside (ex) of their fatherland (patria) - can be used for both immigrant or emigrant, depending on context.