Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a person who is confined in a prison, hospital, etc.
- Archaic. a person who dwells with others in the same house.
noun
- a person who is confined to an institution such as a prison or hospitalSee also resident (def. 2)
- obsolete a person who lives with others in a house
1580s, “one allowed to live in a house rented by another” (usually for a consideration), from in “inside” + mate “companion.” Sense of “one confined to an institution” is first attested 1834.