Aborigine

American  

[ab-uh-rij-uh-nee] / ˌæb əˈrɪdʒ ə ni /

noun

1. Also called Australian Aborigine.  Often Offensive. a member of any of the peoples who are the earliest known inhabitants of Australia, or one of their descendants. Also

2. Sometimes Offensive. one of the original or earliest known inhabitants of a region, or one of their descendants.

   the Aborigines of Canada and Greenland.

3. aborigines, the original, native fauna or flora of a region.

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Aborigine ¹ British  

/ ˌæbəˈrɪdʒɪnɪ /

noun

1. Also called: Aboriginal.  a member of the indigenous people who were living in Australia when European settlers arrived

2. any of the languages of this people See also Australian

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aborigine ² British  

/ ˌæbəˈrɪdʒɪnɪ /

noun

1. an original inhabitant of a country or region who has been there from the earliest known times

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Usage

Aborigine, the noun specifically meaning “an Indigenous inhabitant of Australia,” is an outdated and often offensive term: Don't say the Aborigines of Melbourne and Sydney. Instead, use the related adjective Aboriginal, which is preferred and acceptable, and say, the Aboriginal Australians of Melbourne and Sydney. Similarly, the noun use of Aboriginal with specific reference to Australia is also often offensive, as in Australian Aboriginals. Again, you can use the adjectival form: Aboriginal Australians.

Etymology

Origin of Aborigine

First recorded in 1540–50; by back formation from aborigines, from Latin Aborīginēs “the pre-Roman inhabitants of Italy,” probably alteration of an earlier ethnonym by association with ab origine

Example Sentences

Wartilykirri is a hooked boomerang shaped like the number seven, used by Aborigines in southeastern Australia.

From Los Angeles Times

The intersection of tourism and Australia’s Indigenous peoples, the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, hasn’t always been so promising.

From New York Times

When the Australian Aborigines arrived on the continent of Australia, they started changing the ecosystem in very dramatic ways, and a lot of species went extinct.

From Salon

She, too, was an Aborigine who had been taken from her parents.

From New York Times

"And what I mean by 'me' is, I want to be an Aborigine."

From BBC