Australoid

[aw-struh-loid]

noun

Anthropology. a descriptive category including principally the Australian Aborigines and sometimes including Papuans, Melanesians, various small-statured peoples, as Negritos, of the Philippines, Malay Peninsula, and Andaman Islands, and some of the tribes of central and southern India.

adjective

pertaining to or having the characteristics of the Australoids.

Also Aus·tra·li·oid

[aw-strey-lee-oid] /ɔˈstreɪ liˌɔɪd/.

Origin of Australoid

1860–65; variant of Australioid. See Australia, -oid

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

Examples from the Web for australoid

Historical Examples of australoid

The Australoid seems on the whole not equipped for the effort.
The Pacific Triangle
Sydney Greenbie
This prevelence of body and face hair seems to conform to parts of Melanesia where it may be regarded as an Australoid element.
A Racial Study of the Fijians
Norman E. Gabel
The primitive Negro stock was "mulatto" in the sense of being not widely differentiated from the dark, original Australoid stock.
The Negro
W.E.B. Du Bois
It is also probable that the Australoid family extends into south Arabia and Egypt.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7
Various
The Negritos appear to be derived from a mixture of the true Negro with the Australoid type.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7
Various

British Dictionary definitions for australoid

Australoid

adjective

denoting, relating to, or belonging to a supposed racial group that includes the native Australians and certain other peoples of southern Asia and the Pacific islands.

noun

any member of this racial group

usage

The word Australoid and other words ending in -oid and relating to racial groups, such as Mongoloid, are controversial scientifically and best avoided. If you need to mention the ethnicity of indigenous peoples from this region it is preferable to use a specific name, or a widely accepted term such as indigenous Australians or Aboriginal peoples

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