refugee
noun
a
person
who has been
forced
to
leave
their
country
in order to
escape
war
,
persecution
, or
natural disaster
:
e.g.
tens of thousands of refugees fled their homes
e.g.
as modifier
: a refugee camp.
ORIGIN
late
17th century
: from
French
réfugié
‘gone in search of
refuge
’, past participle of (se)
réfugier
, from
refuge
(see
refuge
).