Etymology Borrowed from French compatriote, itself borrowed from Latin compatriota. By surface analysis, com- + patriot. Displaced native Old English ġelanda.
1
Somebody from one's own country.
And this, perhaps, might have been anticipated; for, as varieties, in order to become in any degree permanent, necessarily have to struggle with the other inhabitants of the country, the species which are already dominant will be the most likely to yield offspring which, though in some slight degree modified, will still inherit those advantages that enabled their parents to become dominant over their compatriots.1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species:
the distrust with which they felt themselves to be regarded by their compatriots in America1858, John Gorham Palfrey, History of New England:
1 more example
However Russian Pavlyuchenko stunned his compatriots with an unstoppable 25-yard drive into the top corner.2011 October 20, Jamie Lillywhite, “Tottenham 1 - 0 Rubin Kazan”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 23 Aug 2025:
Etymology Borrowed from French compatriote, itself borrowed from Latin compatriota. By surface analysis, com- + patriot. Displaced native Old English ġelanda.
1
Of the same country; especially, being countrymen and having a common sentiment of patriotism.
She [Britain] rears to Freedom an undaunted Race: / Compatriot zealous, hoſpitable, kind, […]1736, [James] Thomson, The Prospect: Being the Fifth Part of Liberty. A Poem, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 8, lines 71–72: