aboriginal

American  

[ab-uh-rij-uh-nl] / ˌæb əˈrɪdʒ ə nl /

adjective

1. Sometimes Aboriginal. relating to or typical of the original or earliest known inhabitants of a region, or their descendants: aboriginal customs.

   the aboriginal people of Tahiti;

   aboriginal customs.

2. Aboriginal. relating to or being a member of any of the peoples who are the earliest known inhabitants of Australia, or one of their descendants.

   an Aboriginal tribe of Tasmania.

3. originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country; native; indigenous.

   aboriginal mammals of the Arctic.

   Synonyms:

   autochthonous , endemic

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noun

1. Sometimes Aboriginal Aborigine.

2. Often Offensive.  Aboriginal. Aborigine.

Aboriginal ¹ British  

/ ˌæbəˈrɪdʒɪnəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the indigenous peoples of Australia

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noun

1. another word for an Australian Aborigine

aboriginal ² British  

/ ˌæbəˈrɪdʒɪnəl /

adjective

1. existing in a place from the earliest known period; indigenous; autochthonous

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Usage

See Aborigine.

The Australian government suggests that the most exact and inclusive way of referring to the indigenous peoples of Australia is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples . Other terms which are acceptable are: Aboriginal people(s) , Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders

Other Word Forms

• aboriginality noun
• aboriginally adverb

Etymology

Origin of aboriginal

First recorded in 1660–70; Aborigine + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Unique visitors to Eagle Feather News, a tiny aboriginal newspaper in Saskatchewan, plummeted from about 20,000 to 12,000 a month in the five months after the Facebook ban.

From Los Angeles Times

Bellingham-based artist Natasha Donovan, who is Métis — a recognized Canadian aboriginal people with mixed European and Indigenous ancestry — drew the illustration, which depicts Adam speaking next to fishermen on a river under a sunset.

From Seattle Times

Nuchatlaht’s victory marks the first time a B.C. trial court has recognized a First Nation’s aboriginal title — a type of ownership under Canadian law — of its ancestral territory.

From Seattle Times

Similar to the Coquille, the Karuk went decades without a reservation, even after the U.S. government took ownership of the tribe’s aboriginal hunting and fishing land in a forested swath of the Klamath River Basin.

From Los Angeles Times

“The DNA study also provides the Blood Tribe/Kainai with a new line of evidence to help further treaty and aboriginal rights,” the study authors wrote to Science in a collaborative statement.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• earliest
• original