Jump To:

• aboriginal
  aboriginal

  adjective

  Sometimes Aboriginal. relating to or typical of the original or earliest known inhabitants of a region, or their descendants: aboriginal customs.
• Aboriginal
  Aboriginal

  adjective

  of, relating to, or characteristic of the indigenous peoples of Australia

aboriginal

American  

[ab-uh-rij-uh-nl] / ˌæb əˈrɪdʒ ə nl /

adjective

1. Sometimes Aboriginal. relating to or typical of the original or earliest known inhabitants of a region, or their descendants: aboriginal customs.

   the aboriginal people of Tahiti;

   aboriginal customs.

2. Aboriginal. relating to or being a member of any of the peoples who are the earliest known inhabitants of Australia, or one of their descendants.

   an Aboriginal tribe of Tasmania.

3. originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country; native; indigenous.

   aboriginal mammals of the Arctic.

   Synonyms:

   autochthonous, endemic

---

noun

• aboriginals
  plural

1. Sometimes Aboriginal Aborigine.

2. Often Offensive. Aboriginal. Aborigine.

Aboriginal ¹ British  

/ ˌæbəˈrɪdʒɪnəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the indigenous peoples of Australia

---

noun

1. another word for an Australian Aborigine

aboriginal ² British  

/ ˌæbəˈrɪdʒɪnəl /

adjective

1. existing in a place from the earliest known period; indigenous; autochthonous

---

Usage

See Aborigine.

The Australian government suggests that the most exact and inclusive way of referring to the indigenous peoples of Australia is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples . Other terms which are acceptable are: Aboriginal people(s) , Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• aboriginality
  noun
• aboriginally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aboriginals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aboriginal

First recorded in 1660–70; Aborigine + -al ¹

Explanation

The native, indigenous people of a country are often called aboriginals. In Canada, the First Nations — Inuits and Métis — would be considered aboriginals. The adjective form of aboriginal is used to describe anything related to the people native to an area. You may visit a museum that has an exhibit of aboriginal art; or, if you're a linguist, you may study aboriginal languages. The adjective can also be used to describe something that is indigenous to a place and existed there from the beginning, such as "an aboriginal forest" that consists of old, old trees.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aboriginal Aboriginal aboriginals

There are several ongoing aboriginal title claims in British Columbia, and the Cowichan decision could affect private-property owners in those regions as well.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025

Unique visitors to Eagle Feather News, a tiny aboriginal newspaper in Saskatchewan, plummeted from about 20,000 to 12,000 a month in the five months after the Facebook ban.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024

That court case took 25 years and affirmed Tsilhqot’in’s aboriginal title and control of 733 square miles of their ancestral lands in central B.C., a precedent that stands as a landmark around the world.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2024

“The DNA study also provides the Blood Tribe/Kainai with a new line of evidence to help further treaty and aboriginal rights,” the study authors wrote to Science in a collaborative statement.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 3, 2024

At the opposite extreme, some aboriginal fishing groups of southeastern Australia devised elaborate technologies for managing fish populations, including the construction of canals, weirs, and standing traps.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

“The core of this discussion really should be around CIRI’s Aboriginal indigenous rights,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The inquiry heard evidence from an Aboriginal community living near a navy base in New South Wales state, who bathed in and gathered food near rivers contaminated by firefighting foam.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

"When you look at the prison system in the Northern Territory, it is nearly always 100% Aboriginal children and nearly every single one of those children came out of the child protection system," says Liddle.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

The award was far below the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation's demand for more than Aus$800 million in compensation for economic losses and Aus$1 billion in cultural losses.

From Barron's ● May 12, 2026

Within one century of European colonization, 40,000 years of Aboriginal traditions had been mostly swept away.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

State treaties could recognise aboriginals as the original inhabitants and give them the kind of say in their own affairs that the federal government denies them.

From Economist ● Jul. 5, 2018

The prince then travelled into Australia's Daintree Rainforest where he met the Kuku Yalanji aboriginals.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2018

Their effort is part of a movement that is sweeping countries from Australia to Argentina as aboriginals seek to assert what they see as long-ignored rights and correct centuries-old wrongs.

From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2017

Parks Canada will determine ownership in conjunction with the Inuit aboriginals in the northernmost Canadian territory of Nunavut and unnamed “government organizations”, the agency said, without giving details.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 26, 2016

As to the origin of the Mexican aboriginals, this is unknown or only conjectured, but they embrace an enormous range of tribes, some 230 names of which appear in the list compiled by Mexican ethnologists.

From Mexico Its Ancient and Modern Civilisation, History, Political Conditions, Topography, Natural Resources, Industries and General Development by Martin Hume

Related Words

• earliest
• original