refugee, IDP, evacuee

[Alice Faber]

Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> OED gives "displaced person" as one of the recognized senses of "refugee."  But surely exx. must be available before 1914 ?
>
> The word cranks, bless them, may have fallen prey to the etymological fallacy, however. The earliest OED sense (and maybe the definition was overly specific: worth a review, Jesse !) specifies "one who seeks refuge in a foreign country."
>
> The reason for that is that "refugee" in English was first applied to the French Huguenots.
>
> I stick by my opinion that anyone who would object stridently and publicly to the word "refugee" in the midst of a natural catastrophe is semi-educated.
>
> Or over-educated, as the case may be.

Or sensitive to some connotations of the word that have nothing to do
with its etymological history. I've seen enough statements now from
people who think that use of the word "refugee" connotes "not-American",
and I think that it's disrespectful, given how marginalized many of the
folks who were most affected by the storm already feel.
--
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Alice Faber                                           faber at haskins.yale.edu
Haskins Laboratories                           tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
New Haven, CT 06511 USA                         fax (203) 865-8963