Inmate

Origin

From inn + mate, or from - + mate.

Full definition of inmate

Noun

1. A person confined to an institution such as a prison (as a convict) or hospital (as a patient)
2. A person who occupies or dwells within a dwelling-house. The word came to be used to refer to temporary inhabitants such as guests in a hotel, students in an on-campus dormitory, patients in a hospital, or prisoners.

Usage notes

Perhaps around 1970, television journalists began to use the word as a euphemism for "prisoner", and today perhaps many young people cannot remember that it ever had any other meaning.

Anagrams

• taimen
• Tamien