Emily Dickinson Lexicon

IN-HAB'IT-ANT, n.

1. A dweller; one who dwells or resides permanently in a place, or who has a fixed residence, as distinguished from an occasional lodger or visitor; as the inhabitant of a house or cottage; the inhabitants of a town, city, county or state. So brute animals are inhabitants of the regions to which their natures are adapted; and we speak of spiritual beings, as inhabitants of heaven.
2. One who has a legal settlement in a town, city or parish. The conditions or qualifications which constitute a person an inhabitant of a town or parish, so as to subject the town or parish to support him, if a pauper, are defined by the statutes of different governments or states.