aboriginal
/abəˈrɪdʒɪn(ə)l
/adjective
1Inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times or from before the arrival of colonists; indigenous.Around the world, 70 percent of uranium deposits are located on aboriginal land....
- As a territory born out of the desire for an aboriginal land claims agreement, we are governed as a public government.
- The site will be arranged to evoke the lands where the eleven aboriginal nations in Quebec live.
Synonyms
indigenous, native;
original, earliest, first, initial;
ancient, primitive, primeval, primordial
rare autochthonous, autochthonic
1.1 (Aboriginal) Relating to the Australian Aborigines or their languages.Then, I realised the guests were not Indians, but rather Aboriginal Australians....
- Alice Moyle was present at the births of the new discipline of ethnomusicology and the new field of Australian Aboriginal music.
- A quiet, deep pathos surrounds the story of each Aboriginal language in its individual encounter with the modern world.
noun
1An aboriginal inhabitant of a place.Using the aboriginals ' own oral histories, the developer proved that the site had been designated sacred only within the past 10 years....
- Use aboriginals (not natives) when an all-encompassing collective term is needed.
- Women, youth, aboriginals [and] ethnic communities are all in there, but anglophones aren't mentioned anywhere.
Synonyms
native, indigene, aborigine, local, original inhabitant
rare autochthon
1.1 (Aboriginal) A person belonging to one of the indigenous peoples of Australia.When Australia's Aboriginals soaked Morton Bay chestnuts to make them edible, they were washing out a poison, castanospermine, that is today used to attack viruses, including HIV....
- Early in the book, this exchange takes place between the author and his guide to the ways of Australia's Aboriginals, the remarkable Arkady Volchok.
- Well, he started off as a young camel boy with Bill Wade, going into the centre of Australia counting Aboriginals to see how many lived out there.
2 (Aboriginal) [mass noun] Any of the numerous Australian Aboriginal languages.Bondi is Aboriginal for ‘noise of tumbling waters’ and on a day when the surf is rolling in you can see why.
Usage
See aborigine (usage).
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin aborigines 'original inhabitants' (see aborigine) + -al.