A person who does not live permanently in a particular place, especially for legal, tax, or administrative purposes. Often used in contexts involving taxation, voting rights, or institutional policies.
Compound word from 'non-' (Latin prefix meaning 'not') and 'resident' (from Latin 'residens', present participle of 'residere' meaning 'to sit back' or 'remain'). The legal concept became important with the development of nation-states and formal residency requirements. The term gained prominence with modern tax systems and citizenship laws.
The concept of 'nonresident' reveals how modern bureaucracy tries to categorize people's complex living situations into neat boxes - someone might work in one state, own property in another, and claim residency in a third for tax purposes. This creates the interesting phenomenon of 'tax nomads' who structure their lives to minimize residency-based obligations while maximizing benefits.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.