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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024In•di•an /ˈɪndiən/USA pronunciation n. - [countable] Also called Native American. a member of any of the original peoples of North and South America.
[countable] a person born or living in India.adj. - of or relating to American Indians, or to any of the languages spoken by them.
- of or relating to India.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024In•di•an (in′dē ən),USA pronunciation n. - Language VarietiesAlso called American Indian, Amerind, Amerindian, Native American. a member of the aboriginal people of America or of any of the aboriginal North or South American stocks, usually excluding the Eskimos.
- Language Varietiesany of the indigenous languages of the American Indians. Abbr.: Ind
- Language Varieties, Place Namesa member of any of the peoples native to or inhabiting India or the East Indies.
- Place Names, Language Varietiesa citizen of the Republic of India.
- [Slang.]a person who performs a required task or carries out the instructions of superiors:We have too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
- Astronomythe constellation Indus.
adj. - Language Varietiesof, pertaining to, or characteristic of the American Indians or their languages.
- Place Names, Language Varietiesof, pertaining to, or characteristic of India or the East Indies.
- Foodmade of Indian corn:Indian meal.
- Ecology[Zoogeog.]oriental (def. 3).
- [Phytogeog.]belonging or pertaining to a geographical division comprising India south of the Himalayas, and Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- Medieval Latin as above. See India, -an
- Old French
- Medieval Latin Indiānus; replacing Middle English Indien
- 1350–1400
Because Christopher Columbus mistakenly believed that the Caribbean island on which he had landed was the subcontinent of India, he called the inhabitants Indians. Eventually, that name was applied to almost all the indigenous, non-European inhabitants of North and South America. In modern times Indian may refer to an inhabitant of the subcontinent of India or of the East Indies, to a citizen of the Republic of India, or to a member of an aboriginal American people.In the 18th century the term American Indian came to be used for the aboriginal inhabitants of the United States and Canada; it now includes the aboriginal peoples of South America as well. (When necessary, further distinctions are made with such terms as North American Indian and South American Indian.) The terms Amerindian and Amerind subsequently developed in the attempt to reduce ambiguity. For some, especially among North American Indians, the preferred designation is Native American. All these terms appear in edited writing. Whether one or several will gain ascendancy over the others remains to be seen.The only pre-European inhabitants of North America to whom Indian or other terms using the word Indian are not applied are the Eskimos or Inuit. See Eskimo. Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: Indian /ˈɪndɪən/ n - a native, citizen, or inhabitant of the Republic of India
- old-fashioned taboo a Native American
- (not in scholarly usage) any of the languages of Native Americans
adj - of, relating to, or characteristic of India, its inhabitants, or any of their languages
- (Not in scholarly usage) of, relating to, or characteristic of Native Americans or any of their languages
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