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refugee

n.
US //ˈɹɛfjudʒi// UK //ɹˈɛfjuːdʒˌiː// refugee
  1. 1 someone seeking safety (n.)
    C1 Advanced Informal

    a person who goes to a safe place to avoid a difficult situation or problem.

    a person seeking shelter or protection from any distressing situation, used figuratively or broadly.

    Example

    He was a refugee from the loud party, hiding in the quiet library.

    Example

    The small coastal town became a refugee for city dwellers seeking a temporary escape from the relentless pace of urban life.

    Usage

    frequently used with the preposition 'from'.

Origin

From French réfugié, past participle of réfugier (“to take refuge, to seek refuge”), from Old French refuge (“hiding place”) from Latin refugium (“a place of refuge, place to flee back to”), originally describing French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Noun sense 1 was "one seeking asylum" until 1914, when it evolved to mean more generally "one fleeing home" (first applied in this sense to civilians in Flanders heading west to escape fighting in World War I). By surface analysis, refuge + -ee. Displaced native Old English flīema.

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