Melanesian

[ mel-uh-nee-zhuhn, -shuhn ]

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

noun
  1. a member of any of the Indigenous peoples inhabiting Melanesia.

  2. the Austronesian languages of Melanesia, taken collectively.

Origin of Melanesian

1
First recorded in 1840–50; Melanesi(a) + -an

Words Nearby Melanesian

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How to use Melanesian in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Melanesian

Melanesian

/ (ˌmɛləˈniːzɪən) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to Melanesia, its people, or their languages

noun
  1. a native or inhabitant of Melanesia: generally Negroid with frizzy hair and small stature

  2. a group or branch of languages spoken in Melanesia, belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family

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