Australian

[ aw-streyl-yuhn ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Australia, its inhabitants, or their languages.
2. Zoogeography. belonging to a geographical division comprising Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, Papua New Guinea, and adjacent smaller islands.
3. Phytogeography. belonging or pertaining to a geographical division comprising Australia and Tasmania.

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Australia.
2. an Aboriginal inhabitant of Australia.
3. Also called Aus·tral·ian Ab·o·rig·i·nal lan·gua·ges [aw-, streyl, -y, uh, n ab-, uh, -, rij, -, uh, -nl , lang, -gwij-iz]. the group of languages of the Aborigines of Australia, consisting of about three hundred languages. : Austral, Austral.

Other Words From

• an·ti-Aus·tral·ian adjective noun
• pro-Aus·tral·ian adjective noun
• pseu·do-Aus·tral·ian adjective noun
• trans-Aus·tral·ian adjective
• un-Aus·tral·ian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Australian¹

First recorded in 1690–70 Australian fordef 5; Australi(a) + -an

Example Sentences

Between June and October 1943, 4,283 British, 1,303 Dutch, 1,630 Australian, and 88 American soldiers died.

From The Daily Beast

An Australian woman in her late twenties told me she was an “honorary Jew” with no actual Jewish heritage.

From The Daily Beast

His sex-offender pedigree was real, though; Australian police have those certificates.

From The Daily Beast

At that time, though, my job as a rep for an Australian company made it impossible to leave Australia.

From The Daily Beast

The most astonishing came from Ron and Mavis Pirola, a middle-aged Australian couple who have been together for 57 years.

From The Daily Beast

Meanwhile, the Australian submarine has got up through the Narrows and has torpedoed a gunboat at Chunuk.

From Project Gutenberg

His paper commenced in March, 1803, in the 15th year of the colony, and was the first Australian periodical.

From Project Gutenberg

A very heavy Australian order for these last named was executed here in 1853, and there is always a small demand for them.

From Project Gutenberg

Entertained a small party of Australian officers as my private guests for 48 hours, my idea being to give them a bit of a rest.

From Project Gutenberg

I had known him well in Melbourne where he helped me more than anyone else to get the hang of the Australian system.

From Project Gutenberg