migration
/maɪˈɡreɪʃən/
noun
Origin
Latin
migrare — to move, depart, shift one's residence
Overview
Meaning Now
- The movement of persons from one country or locality to another, often with the intent to settle.
- The regular, seasonal movement of animals, particularly birds or fish, between breeding and wintering grounds.
Literal older meaning
a passing or moving from one place to another
Language path
Latin → Middle English → English
Earliest form
migratio
Earliest period
17th century
Journey
The term entered the English language during a period of increased scientific observation, initially used to describe the movement of birds and animal species before being broadly applied to human demographic shifts in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*mei-
“to change, go, move”
- Latin
migrare
“to move from one place to another”
- Latin
migratio
“a removing, departure”
- 17th-century English
migration
“the act of moving from one place to another”
Introduced via scholarly and scientific discourse.
Connections
Word parts
migr-
root
to move
-ation
suffix
noun-forming suffix indicating action or process
Related across languages
French
migration
Spanish
migración
migration
Explore next
Related to migration
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.