Papuan

[ pap-yoo-uh n ]

/ ˈpæp yu ən /

adjective

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

noting or pertaining to the indigenous black peoples of New Guinea, characterized by a black or dark brown complexion and crisp, frizzled hair.

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.

noun

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

any of the Papuan languages.

QUIZZES

TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SEE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL PUNCTUATION!

Commas mark divisions in sentences. Periods end declarative sentences. Apostrophes show possession. Easy, right? Well, punctuation can get pretty tricky—fast. Think you got what it takes to be a punctuation expert? Take our quiz to prove it!

Question 1 of 10

Which of the options below is the best punctuation for the sentence? It__s your turn to pick the movie __ but your sister gets to pick the board game we _ re going to play.

Its your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.

It’s your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game were going to play.

It’s your turn to pick the movie, but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Papuan

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for papuan

The use of the bow and arrow is confined to the Papuans, and is universally employed to the west and in the Papuan Gulf.
Evolution in Art|Alfred C. Haddon
The Monumbo are a Papuan tribe numbering about four hundred souls, who inhabit twelve small villages close to the seashore.
The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3)|Sir James George Frazer
I have seen a characteristic Papuan periwig produced in England in the case of a fair-haired girl.
The Solomon Islands and Their Natives|H. B. (Henry Brougham) Guppy
The possessive case also is formed as in some other Papuan languages by a suffix added to the root of the pronoun.
The Mafulu|Robert W. Williamson

They show signs of intermixture with Polynesian or Papuan stock.
The Inhabitants of the Philippines|Frederic H. Sawyer

British Dictionary definitions for papuan

Papuan

/ (ˈpæpjʊən) /

adjective

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

noun

a native or inhabitant of Papua New Guinea

any of several languages of Papua New Guinea that apparently do not belong 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