autochthonous

[aw-tok-thuh-nuh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR autochthonous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to autochthons; aboriginal; indigenous (opposed to heterochthonous).

Pathology.

found in the part of the body in which it originates, as a cancerous lesion.
found in a locality in which it originates, as an infectious disease.

Psychology. of or relating to ideas that arise independently of the individual's own train of thought and seem instead to have some alien or external agency as their source.

Geology. (of rocks, minerals, etc.) formed in the region where found.Compare allochthonous.

RELATED WORDS

aboriginal, endemic, native

Also au·toch·tho·nal, au·toch·thon·ic

[aw-tok-thon-ik] /ˌɔ tɒkˈθɒn ɪk/.

Origin of autochthonous

First recorded in 1795–1805; autochthon + -ous

Related formsau·toch·tho·nism, au·toch·tho·ny, nounau·toch·tho·nous·ly, adverbau·toch·tho·nous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for autochthonous

Historical Examples of autochthonous

Sometimes the cultural change was an autochthonous development.
A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open
Theodore Roosevelt
Intentionally, and to a certain extent, Rimsky's work is autochthonous.
Musical Portraits
Paul Rosenfeld
Apparently from mother earth herself they had come, autochthonous.
Where the Trail Divides
Will Lillibridge
Thus Ancient Egypt believed itself to be autochthonous, and traced the origin of arts and sciences to native gods.
Human Origins
Samuel Laing
Smilisca is an excellent example of an Autochthonous Middle American genus.
Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca
William E. Duellman

British Dictionary definitions for autochthonous

autochthonous

autochthonic (ˌɔːtɒkˈθɒnɪk) or autochthonal

adjective

(of rocks, deposits, etc) found where they and their constituents were formedCompare allochthonous

inhabiting a place or region from earliest known times; aboriginal

physiol (of some functions, such as heartbeat) originating within an organ rather than from external stimulation

Derived Formsautochthonism or autochthony, nounautochthonously, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for autochthonous

adj.

"native, indigenous," 1845, from autochthon + -ous.

Medicine definitions for autochthonous

autochthonous

[ô-tŏk′thə-nəs]

adj.

Native to the place inhabited; indigenous.

Originating in the place where found. Used of a disease originating in the part of the body where found, or of a disease acquired in the place where the patient is.