Exoduster

English Noun

Definition

Any of the African-Americans who migrated to Kansas mostly between 1879 and 1881, during the Reconstruction era of American history.

Etymology

From Exodus, in allusion to the story of the Israelites' flight from Egypt in the biblical Book of Exodus + a suffix of agency. Most likely Exodus + -ster, but perhaps exodist + -er. The earliest attestation is a figurative one in an 1879 education journal. See Citations:Exoduster.