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Papuan

[ pap-yoo-uhn ]

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.


noun

  1. a native or inhabitant of New Guinea or Papua New Guinea.
  2. any of the Papuan languages.

ˈPapuan

/ ˈpæpjʊən /

adjective

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


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
“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of Papuan1

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

They would come close in-shore, and I would spear them from the rocks with a Papuan fishing-spear.

Naturally the Papuan influx affected chiefly the northern part of Central Australia.

The Papuan races likewise wandered far across the Indian Ocean.

In their beginnings, these factors already manifest themselves in the wanderings of the Papuan and Negrito tribes.

The inhabitants were fleeing away from us in their curious canoes, which, unlike most Papuan canoes, had no outrigger whatever.

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PapuaPapua New Guinea