habitant
English
Etymology
From Old French habitant
Noun
habitant (plural habitants)
- (Canada) a member of habitation colony at Stadacona founded by Samuel de Champlain, where Quebec City now lies
- (archaic) Inhabitant, dweller.
- 1874, James Thomson, The City of Dreadful Night
- Myriads of habitants are ever sleeping,
- Or dead, or fled from nameless pestilence!
- 1874, James Thomson, The City of Dreadful Night
French
Pronunciation
- (mute h) IPA(key): /a.bi.tɑ̃/
Audio (France, Paris) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑ̃
- Homophone: habitants
Noun
habitant m (plural habitants)
- An inhabitant of some place.
- (Quebec, derogatory) Someone who has a poor understanding of social conventions, making them look backward.
- (Quebec, dated or derogatory) Anybody from a rural or recently colonized area.
- (Canada, historical) A member of the habitation colony at Stadacona founded by Samuel de Champlain, where Quebec City now lies.
- (Quebec, colloquial) Montreal Canadiens hockey club or supporter of Montreal Canadiens hockey club.
- (Louisiana) A farmer.
Synonyms
- (farmer): agriculteur m; (dated) fermier
Usage notes
- Although the term originates as legitimate to describe early French colonists and French Canadian farmers, it has now taken a strong pejorative aspect in Quebec French, and using it without an explicit location would be perceived as pejorative.
Further reading
- “habitant” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Latin
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