Melanesian

[mel-uh-nee-zhuh n, -shuh n]

adjective

of or relating to Melanesia, its inhabitants, or their languages.

noun

a member of any of the native peoples inhabiting Melanesia.
the Austronesian languages of Melanesia, taken collectively.

Origin of Melanesian

First recorded in 1840–50; Melanesi(a) + -an

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

Examples from the Web for melanesian

Historical Examples of melanesian

The languages belong to the Melanesian and Polynesian classes.
Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
Felix Speiser
He seemed to confirm the theory that the African is superior to the Melanesian.
Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific
Felix Speiser
It is extraordinary that a myth like the Melanesian should occur in Brazil.
Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1
Andrew Lang
But the Melanesian lads really do all this kind of work now.
Life of John Coleridge Patteson
Charlotte M. Yonge
I don't want to be hunting after a Melanesian paulo-post-futurum.
Life of John Coleridge Patteson
Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for melanesian

Melanesian

adjective

of or relating to Melanesia, its people, or their languages

noun

a native or inhabitant of Melanesia: generally Negroid with frizzy hair and small stature
a group or branch of languages spoken in Melanesia, belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family
See also Neo-Melanesian

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 melanesian

Melanesian

adj.

1840, from Melanesia + -ian.