autochthonous

[ aw-tok-thuh-nuhs ]

/ ɔˈtɒk θə nəs /

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See synonyms for autochthonous on Thesaurus.com

Definition of autochthonous

adjective

Ecology. 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.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM autochthonous

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

Words nearby autochthonous

autocephalous, autocephaly, autochanger, autochrome, autochthon, autochthonous, autocidal, autocide, autoclave, autocollimation, autocollimator

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use autochthonous in a sentence

If any of the autochthonous idlers asked him what he called himself, he replied shortly, "an engineer."
Tess of the d'Urbervilles|Thomas Hardy
The Ukrainian race is as nearly autochthonous as any in central or eastern Europe.
Memorandum to the Government of the United States on the Recognition of the Ukrainian People's Republic|Julian Batchinsky
Are not the speakers of Celtic languages the descendants of the autochthonous peoples of Western Europe?
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 4|Various
It is not probable that the Eupatrid families were all autochthonous, even in the loose sense of that term.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8|Various

This is so strange an utterance, that it could only have come from one who fancied himself autochthonous.
Maxims and Reflections|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

British Dictionary definitions for autochthonous

autochthonous

autochthonic (ˌɔːtɒkˈθɒnɪk) or autochthonal

/ (ɔːˈtɒkθənəs) /

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 forms of autochthonous

autochthonism 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

autochthonous

Definition of autochthonous

Origin of autochthonous

OTHER WORDS FROM autochthonous

Words nearby autochthonous

Words related to autochthonous

How to use autochthonous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for autochthonous

autochthonic (ˌɔːtɒkˈθɒnɪk) or autochthonal

Derived forms of autochthonous