Term: habitant (Fr.)
Definition: French settlers at fur trade posts who farmed rather than took part in the trade; often retired voyageurs who did not want to return to live under the religious and political strictures of Montreal or Quebec but preferred to live far from reach of official authority.
[Source: McDermott, John Francis. A Glossary of Mississippi Valley French, 1673-1850 (St. Louis: 1941).]
