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aboriginal

 - 4 dictionary results

ab⋅o⋅rig⋅i⋅nal

  [ab-uh-rij-uh-nl]
Use aboriginal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or typical of aborigines: aboriginal customs.
2. original or earliest known; native; indigenous: the aboriginal people of Tahiti.
–noun
3. aborigine (def. 1).
4. (initial capital letter) aborigine (def. 2).
Origin:
1660–70; aborigine + -al 1

Related forms:
ab⋅o⋅rig⋅i⋅nal⋅i⋅ty, noun
ab⋅o⋅rig⋅i⋅nal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
2. endemic, autochthonous, primordial.

ab⋅o⋅rig⋅i⋅ne

  [ab-uh-rij-uh-nee]
–noun
1. one of the original or earliest known inhabitants of a country or region.
2. (initial capital letter) Also, Aboriginal. Also called Australian Aborigine. a member of the dark-skinned people who were the earliest inhabitants of Australia.
3. aborigines, the original, native fauna or flora of a region.
Origin:
1540–50; by back formation from aborigines < L Aborīginēs a race of pre-Roman inhabitants of Italy, prob. alter. of an earlier ethnonym by assoc. with ab origine
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To aboriginal
ab·o·rig·i·nal   (āb'ə-rĭj'ə-nəl)   
adj.  

  1. Having existed in a region from the beginning: aboriginal forests. See Synonyms at native.

    1. Of or relating to aborigines.

    2. often Aboriginal Of or relating to the indigenous peoples of Australia.

n.  also Aboriginal An aborigine.
ab'o·rig'i·nal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

aborigine 
1858, mistaken singular of aborigines (1547, the correct singular is aboriginal), from L. Aborigines "the first inhabitants" (especially of Latium), possibly a tribal name, or from ab origine, lit. "from the beginning." Extended 1789 to natives of other countries which Europeans have colonized. Australian slang shortening Abo attested from 1922.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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