émigré

American  

[em-i-grey, ey-mee-grey] / ˈɛm ɪˌgreɪ, eɪ miˈgreɪ /

noun

émigrés plural

1. an emigrant, especially a person who flees from their native land because of political conditions.

2. a person who fled from France because of opposition to or fear of the revolution that began in 1789.

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émigré British  

/ ˈɛmɪˌɡreɪ, emiɡre /

noun

1. an emigrant, esp one forced to leave his native country for political reasons

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Usage

What does émigré mean? An émigré is an emigrant, especially one who has fled their home country due to oppressive political conditions. An emigrant is any person who has emigrated or is emigrating—permanently leaving home in one country or region to settle in another. While emigrants can emigrate for a number of reasons, the word émigré typically implies that someone has fled political oppression or political conditions that they strongly disagree with. The word émigré is sometimes used in a more specific way to refer to a person who fled from France before, during, or after the French Revolution, which began in 1789. Such émigrés were often aristocrats who feared that they would be targeted by violence during the revolution or otherwise opposed it. The related word immigrant refers to someone who moves to a place, as opposed to away from it. Of course, émigrés are also immigrants since they have to settle somewhere after they leave. The word is sometimes seen without the accent marks (as emigre). Example: Thousands of émigrés fled Germany during the rise of Hitler in the 1930s.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• émigrés
  plural

Etymology

Origin of émigré

First recorded in 1785–95; from French: noun use of past participle of émigrer, from Latin ēmīgrāre to emigrate

Explanation

An emigre is someone who moves to a different country. As many as two million emigres left Russia during the three years after the Russian Revolution. The French émigré, "an emigrant," comes from the Latin emigrare, "depart from a place." You can use this word for anyone who departs their home country, but it usually describes people who leave for political reasons. Russian emigres found themselves in opposition to Russia’s new political climate and fled to countries all across Europe. During the American Revolution, many colonists who were loyal to Britain also became emigres, departing for Canada and Great Britain.

Example Sentences

Although I was greatly helped by Lubalin’s ethos of “expressive typography,” once I gained some confidence, I soon moved away from him to more radical voices — Dutch design, Cranbrook, Emigre, 8vo and others.

From Salon • Jun. 25, 2012

Founded in 1984 by the husband-and-wife team of Rudy VanderLans and Zuzana Licko, Emigre was influential on the graphic design scene in the ’80s and ’90s.

From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2010

For all the theoretical debate and creative output inspired by Emigre, the font-as-art movement seems to be over.

From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2010

Students from Hungary, Ireland and Latvia also attended, as did Russian Emigre students.

From Time Magazine Archive

But such masters and such servants are nowadays only found in the old melodramas performed at the Ambigu, in "The Emigre," for instance, or in "The Last of the Chateauvieux."

From The Count's Millions by Gaboriau, Émile

Related Words

• emigrant