colonist

noun

col·​o·​nist ˈkä-lə-nist How to pronounce colonist (audio)
plural colonists
see usage paragraph below
: a member or inhabitant of a colony (see colony sense 1)
the Jamestown/Plymouth colonists
especially : a person who migrates to and settles in a foreign area as part of a colony
Honeybees aren't native to North America; early colonists brought them over from Europe to provide honey and beeswax. Paige Embry
Usage of Colonist and Colonizer

Colonist and colonizer both have meanings closely tied to the word colonialism in its use referring to domination of a foreign people or area. Colonist, which comes directly from the noun colony, is the more common—and usually more neutral—term. Colonizer, which comes from the verb colonize, is used especially in contexts in which the exploitative nature of colonialism is being discussed or evoked; in phrases like "colonizer mindset/mentality" it implies a benefit from or even active participation in that exploitation.

Examples of colonist in a Sentence

British colonists settled the area in the 18th century. over time the colonists began to sense that they were becoming a people unto themselves
Recent Examples on the Web The site also boasted musket parts and 1,200 pieces of lead shot—mostly hunting ammunition—as well as stone and glass beads that colonists likely traded with Native Americans. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024 French-Creole colonists brought the beignet to the city in the 18th century. Lanee Lee, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 By the early 1600s, within decades of Europeans arriving in California, colonists were describing the region’s grizzlies as hypercarnivorous goliaths, weighing as much as 2,350 pounds and capable of single-handedly massacring flocks of 200 sheep. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2024 But the legacy of trauma imparted by the church, the federal government, heavy industry, and European colonists’ attempts to expel or exterminate Native people centuries ago still remains. Lev Facher, STAT, 16 Nov. 2023 Seeking to recoup the costs of the Seven Years War (known here as the French and Indian War), which had begun on the western Pennsylvania frontier, the British Parliament between 1765 and 1770 made successive efforts to tax the American colonists. The Editors, National Review, 16 Dec. 2023 But Florida points to an event even earlier, in St. Augustine, on Sept. 8, 1565, when Spanish colonists celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving with members of the Seloy tribe. Alex Seitz-Wald, NBC News, 23 Nov. 2023 Waves of Quakers, Germans and descendants of British colonists staked out more routes over the next 200 years. Jayne Orenstein, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024 The area was home to large Indigenous villages before European colonists arrived in the Seventeenth Century. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 25 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'colonist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1701, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of colonist was in 1701

Dictionary Entries Near colonist

Cite this Entry

“Colonist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colonist. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

colonist

noun
col·​o·​nist ˈkäl-ə-nəst How to pronounce colonist (audio)
1
: a person who lives in a colony
2
: a person who takes part in founding a colony

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