Emigration
/ˌɛmɪˈɡreɪʃən/
Definitions
The act of leaving a country or region to settle in another.
/ˌɛmɪˈɡreɪʃən/
The act of leaving one's own country to settle permanently in another.
Economic hardship often prompts emigration.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're moving to a new country to live! Emigration is when you LEAVE your home country to go live somewhere else.
👶 For kids: When you leave your country to live in a new country, that's called emigration!
More Examples
The government implemented policies to curb emigration.
A significant wave of emigration followed the political unrest.
How It's Used
"Political instability often leads to increased emigration."
"Emigration patterns can significantly alter the demographics of a region."
"The potato famine caused widespread emigration from Ireland to North America."
Idioms & expressions
brain drain
The emigration of skilled and educated people from a country.
"The country is suffering from a severe brain drain as skilled professionals seek better opportunities abroad."
From Latin *ēmigrātus*, past participle of *ēmigrāre* 'to emigrate', from *ē-* (variant of *ex-* 'out') + *migrāre* 'to move, depart'. The word entered English in the 17th century, initially to describe the act of migrating in general, later specifically of moving away from a country or region.
Historically, the word 'emigration' has been used since the 17th century. It was frequently used to describe the movement of people due to various factors such as famine, wars, or economic hardships.
Memory tip
Think of 'e' for exit and 'migration' for movement.
Word Origin
"to move out"