villager

villager — noun

1. someone whose home is in a village — a small country settlement — and who is par

1.nounC2
Definition

someone whose home is in a village — a small country settlement — and who is part of the community there

Example

The villagers gathered at the well every morning to share news and stories.

countable noun, plural with definite article

After the storm, the villagers worked together to fix the damaged houses.

shows community cooperation

Common collocations
  • fellow villagers
  • local villagers
  • elderly villager
  • villager reported
  • villagers believed
Synonyms
  • country dweller

    more general; includes anyone who lives in the countryside, not necessarily in a village

  • rural resident

    more formal or official-sounding; used in census or planning contexts

  • countryman / countrywoman

    emphasises connection to rural life and traditions; slightly old-fashioned

Antonyms
  • city dweller

    someone who lives in a large city or town

  • urbanite

    informal term for a person who lives in a city

Common Mistakes

The villager peoples are friendly.
The villagers are friendly.
'villager' is a countable noun and already means a person; do not add 'peoples' or treat it as an adjective.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All these words describe people who live outside cities, but they differ in scope and connotation. 'Villager' is the most neutral and specific — it refers to someone who lives in a village, a small settlement smaller than a town. 'Country dweller' is broader and includes anyone living in the countryside, even on isolated farms. 'Rural resident' is more formal and statistical, often used in government reports or surveys. 'Countryman' (or 'countrywoman') carries a warm, traditional tone and often implies a deep connection to rural customs, but can sound dated. 'Peasant' is historically specific to poor farming classes in pre-industrial societies and often carries a negative or patronising tone in modern English; avoid using it as a simple synonym for 'villager'. For example: 'The villagers welcomed the tourists into their homes.' versus 'The rural residents of the county have limited access to hospitals.'

villager ↗country dwellerrural residentcountrymanpeasant ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • fellow villagers
  • local villagers
  • elderly villager

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

'Villager' is formed from 'village' (a small rural settlement) plus the agent suffix '-er' meaning 'a person who does or belongs to something'. 'Village' entered English from Old French 'village', which in turn came from Latin 'villāticus' meaning 'belonging to a country house or farm', from 'villa' (country house, farmstead). The word has been used in English since the 1500s to describe an inhabitant of a village.