autochthonous
Ecology. pertaining to autochthons; aboriginal; indigenous (opposed to heterochthonous).
Pathology.
found in the part of the body in which it originates, as a cancerous lesion.
found in a locality in which it originates, as an infectious disease.
Psychology. of or relating to ideas that arise independently of the individual's own train of thought and seem instead to have some alien or external agency as their source.
Geology. (of rocks, minerals, etc.) formed in the region where found.: Compare allochthonous.
Origin of autochthonous
1- Also au·toch·tho·nal, au·toch·thon·ic [aw-tok-thon-ik]. /ˌɔ tɒkˈθɒn ɪk/.
Other words from autochthonous
- au·toch·tho·nism, au·toch·tho·ny, noun
- au·toch·tho·nous·ly, adverb
- au·toch·tho·nous·ness, noun
Words Nearby autochthonous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use autochthonous in a sentence
If any of the autochthonous idlers asked him what he called himself, he replied shortly, "an engineer."
Tess of the d'Urbervilles | Thomas HardyThe Ukrainian race is as nearly autochthonous as any in central or eastern Europe.
Are not the speakers of Celtic languages the descendants of the autochthonous peoples of Western Europe?
It is not probable that the Eupatrid families were all autochthonous, even in the loose sense of that term.
This is so strange an utterance, that it could only have come from one who fancied himself autochthonous.
Maxims and Reflections | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
British Dictionary definitions for autochthonous
autochthonic (ˌɔːtɒkˈθɒnɪk) or autochthonal
/ (ɔːˈtɒkθənəs) /
(of rocks, deposits, etc) found where they and their constituents were formed: Compare allochthonous
inhabiting a place or region from earliest known times; aboriginal
physiol (of some functions, such as heartbeat) originating within an organ rather than from external stimulation
Derived forms of autochthonous
- autochthonism or autochthony, noun
- autochthonously, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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