Arawakan

[ar-uh-wah-kuh n, -wak-uh n]

noun

a family of numerous and widely scattered languages spoken formerly from Florida to Chile but now only in South America.
a member of a group of Indian peoples who spoke these languages.

adjective

of or belonging to this language family or its speakers or to the Arawak.

Origin of Arawakan

First recorded in 1905–10; Arawak + -an

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for arawakan

Historical Examples of arawakan

In the east also there are evidences of the influence of Arawakan culture from the West Indies.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 4
Various
In the languages of this region there are to be detected perhaps a few loan-words from Arawakan or Cariban dialects.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 4
Various

British Dictionary definitions for arawakan

Arawakan

noun

a family of American Indian languages found throughout NE South America

adjective

of or relating to the peoples speaking these languages

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