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aborigine - 3 dictionary results

ab⋅o⋅rig⋅i⋅ne

  [ab-uh-rij-uh-nee]
Use aborigine in a Sentence
–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 aborigine
ab·o·rig·i·ne   (āb'ə-rĭj'ə-nē)   
n.  
    1. A member of the indigenous or earliest known population of a region; a native.
    2. often Aborigine A member of any of the indigenous peoples of Australia. See Usage Note at native.
  2. aborigines The flora and fauna native to a geographic area.

[From Latin aborīginēs, original inhabitants (folk etymology of a pre-Roman tribal name) : ab-, from; see ab-1 + orīgine, ablative of orīgō, beginning; see origin.]
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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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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Language Translation for : aborigine
Spanish: aborigen,
German: der, *die (australische) Ureinwohner(in),
Japanese: 原住民
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