Plural of absentee; people who are not present at a place where they are expected to be.
From French absent (absent) + -ee (one who is), creating a noun for a person characterized by absence. This became standard in English by the 18th century for those absent from required gatherings.
The suffix -ee (like in 'employee,' 'refugee,' 'trustee') marks you as experiencing something—absentees don't just fail to show up, they're defined by their absence as a characteristic.
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