Antonym of nomad

Question

What do you call someone who isn't a nomad? Someone who has a fixed abode.

I tried a google search, but this post and this one had some rather disappointing answers.

Answer 1

The antonym of nomad is nonnomad. It is mentioned in dictionary.reference.com also.

Examples from Google Books:

...“fixed abode of the nomad (Beduin), whom death transforms into a permanent settler (nonnomad) (mugim) for all eternity”

_{The Spiritual Background of Early Islam by M.M. Bravmann}

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This represented the first time “Uyghur” entered official use to refer to the Türki-speaking nonnomad population of southern Xinjiang.

_{Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland by S. Frederick Starr}

Note: The hyphenated form non-nomad looks like more common based on Google Books result.

Answer 2

If you're speaking of historical populations, you might use the word "settler".

Answer 3

A resident may convey the idea of someone who lives permanently in the same place:

• One who resides in a particular place permanently or for an extended period. (AHD)

or an inhabitant:

• One that inhabits a place, especially as a permanent resident: the inhabitants of a fishing village; snakes, lizards, and other inhabitants of the desert.

Answer 4

@Eilia's comment pretty much hits the mark. According to Merriam-Webster sedentary means (among others):

staying or living in one place instead of moving to different places

Or more pronounced yet:

1: not migratory: settled (sedentary birds) (sedentary civilizations)

Aside from sedentary the antonyms and near antonyms listed for migrant might be interesting as well.

Answer 5

The opposite of a nomad is a dweller.

Answer 6

Here in Ireland, there is a community which is traditionally nomadic: they are known by various names, but usually as The Travellers (in the UK, they are known as Irish Travellers, and recognised as an indigenous minority ethnic group). RTÉ, the state broadcaster, will refer to “members of the Travelling community”. The rest of us, by contrast, are known as the Settled community. (We are not called settlers, which to me invokes images of arriving at a place and settling there. I didn’t settle here: I was born here.)

Answer 7

To actually contrast a resident from someone who roams, maybe someone who used to roam, you could use the following...

Someone who has a fixed abode has settled down

[NO OBJECT] Adopt a more steady or secure style of life, especially in a permanent job and home:

one day I will settle down and raise a family

You can simply call them settled.

[WITH ADVERBIAL OF PLACE] Make one’s permanent home somewhere:

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Informally, if a nomad stops roaming, you can say that they've dropped anchor.

Answer 8

I initially agreed with Tarok's answer, but from the Wikipedia page on "sedentary lifestyle":

This article is about the medical term. For the anthropologic concept, see sedentism.

So perhaps the term is sedentic?

Consider this usage from the front-inside-cover of Origins and History of Jats and Other Allied Nomadic Tribes of India:

Answer 9

In the animal kingdom we would describe a creature, like the coral polyp, that didn't choose to roam as sessile. I doubt there is a noun form however.

Answer 10

Not a true antonym, but you may be able to use farmer. By definition, a farmer must stay in the area to tend to their crops.

A nomad is someone that by definition must travel to gather food. A farmer does not need to travel since their food is grown where they live.

Answer 11

Homebody may suit your needs. Of course, one need not be too narrow about their definition of "home" here. After all, the word encompasses even the unadventurous types.

Answer 12

I find nomad tribes and settled tribes in Pons German-English (sesshaft - settled tribes).

Answer 13

Another option might be a local.