Résidents

Résidents is the plural of the French noun résident, meaning a person who lives in a particular place. It can refer to inhabitants of a city, a neighborhood, a building, or a community. The feminine form is résidente, while the plural feminine is résidentes. The term derives from Latin residēre “to sit or remain,” via Old French; the accent on é in résident marks the closed syllable and stress typical of French.

In everyday French, résidents are the people who occupy a residence, distinguishing residents from visitors or non-residents. In housing policy and urban planning, résidents are often the focus of surveys, rights, and services, and “association de résidents” or “résidents d’un immeuble” describe community groups and tenants’ associations.

In English-language contexts, “residents” is used similarly to refer to people who live in a place, with translation usually obvious from context. The term appears in legal and administrative language, housing, and community planning. In medical settings, “resident” refers to a medical graduate enrolled in a residency program; in French-speaking contexts this role is rendered as “résident” and forms part of the healthcare system’s training continuum.

Related terms include résidente (female resident), résidence (residence), and résidence principale (principal residence). The word is neutral and widely used in demographic, housing, and administrative discourse.