Papuan

American  

[pap-yoo-uhn] / ˈpæp yu ən /

adjective

1. of or relating to New Guinea or to Papua New Guinea.

2. noting or pertaining to the Indigenous Black peoples of New Guinea.

3. of or relating to any of the unaffiliated languages indigenous to New Guinea and other islands nearby, especially Timor, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Moluccas, and the Solomons.

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of New Guinea or Papua New Guinea.

2. any of the Papuan languages.

ˈPapuan British  

/ ˈpæpjʊən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Papua or any of the languages spoken there

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Papua New Guinea

2. any of several languages of Papua New Guinea that apparently do not belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family

Etymology

Origin of Papuan

First recorded in 1805–15; Papu(a) + -an

Example Sentences

The five other passengers, who were indigenous Papuans, were released.

From BBC

The watershed is also one of the oldest continually inhabited homes for different groups of Indigenous Papuans.

From Science Daily

Indigenous Papuans suffer poverty, sickness and are more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia, multiple non-governmental organizations say.

From Seattle Times

By combining scientific techniques with the Papuan team members' experience and knowledge of the forest, the team made a wealth of new discoveries.

From Science Daily

The echidna was not the only creature the team found in the West Papuan rainforest.

From Washington Times