Papuan

[pap-yoo-uh n]

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.

Origin of Papuan

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for papuan

Historical Examples of papuan

Was he not going to preach on behalf of the Papuan Mission next Sunday?
Framley Parsonage
Anthony Trollope
The poor Papuan goes all his days beset by the Powers of Darkness.
Peeps At Many Lands: Australia
Frank Fox
The Papuan, on the other hand, has a face which we may say is compressed and projecting.
The Malay Archipelago
Alfred Russell Wallace
There is the pure Papuan, who has been largely merged in the Kei type.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 6
Various
Its inhabitants are Papuan thorough-bred, of the brown variety.
The Woodlands Orchids
Frederick Boyle

British Dictionary definitions for papuan

Papuan

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