single word requests - How can i refer to people who live in the other half of a duplex?


Is there a word to refer specifically to the people who live in the other part of a duplex (two-family house, side-by-side)? Not neighbor, i think, as that's more generic.



Answer



Following Kris's advice, I searched for a definition.



A duplex house plan is a multi-family home consisting of two separate units but built as a single dwelling. The two units are built either side-by-side, separated by a firewall, or they may be stacked. Duplex home plans are very popular in high-density areas such as busy cities or on more expensive waterfront properties. The two units of a duplex floor plan are usually a mirror image of one other, but are also available with attached units varying in size and layout. An example of this would be: unit A has two bedrooms and one bathroom and unit B has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.


Family Home Plans



For semi-detached houses which are side-by-side, the person in the other half is your next-door neighbour. For a maisonette where the building has two single-storey flats on different floors, that person is your upstairs (or downstairs) neighbour.


Next-door neighbour does include the properties on both sides of yours, so as well as referring to the person in the other half of your building, it also refers to the person on the other side, whose house yours is not joined to. In the UK, there isn't a standard term distinguishing those, although "through the wall" might be conveniently used to refer to the neighbour you share the building with.


In a terraced house, where more than one house is joined together along a street, even "through the wall" isn't particularly helpful, as that really only works for the end-of-terrace house (which are often sold as "semi-detached").


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