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Webster 1913 Edition


Aboriginal

Abˊo-rig′i-nal

,
Adj.
[See
Aborigines
.]
1.
First; original; indigenous; primitive; native;
as, the
aboriginal
tribes of America
.
“Mantled o’er with aboriginal turf.”
Wordsworth.
2.
Of or pertaining to aborigines;
as, a Hindu of
aboriginal
blood
.

Abˊo-rig′i-nal

,
Noun.
1.
An original inhabitant of any land; one of the aborigines.
2.
An animal or a plant native to the region.
It may well be doubted whether this frog is an
aboriginal
of these islands.
Darwin.

Webster 1828 Edition


Aboriginal

ABORIG'INAL

,
Adj.
[L. ab and origo, origin. See Origin.]
First; original; primitive; aboriginal people are the first inhabitants of a country.
Aboriginal tribes of America.

ABORIG'INAL

,
Adj.
an original, or primitive inhabitant. The first settlers in a country are called aboriginals; as the Celts in Europe, and Indians in America.

Definition 2024


Aboriginal

Aboriginal

See also: aboriginal

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

Aboriginal (comparative more Aboriginal, superlative most Aboriginal)

  1. Of or pertaining to Australian Aboriginal peoples, Aborigines, or their language. [First attested in the 19th century.]
  2. Alternative letter-case form of aboriginal

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

Aboriginal (plural Aboriginals)

  1. An Aboriginal inhabitant of Australia, Aborigine. [First attested in the 19th century.]
  2. Alternative letter-case form of aboriginal

Translations

Usage notes

Given that -al is an adjective suffix (and that Aboriginal was originally an adjective, Aborigines being the original noun), the usage of aboriginal as a noun was for a time considered incorrect.

Proper noun

Aboriginal

  1. Any of the native languages spoken by Australian aborigines.

Usage notes

In Canada, Aboriginal is most commonly capitalized (indicated by its status as the main headword in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary). The term has official status in the Constitution Act of 1982, and while recognizing that it is encountered in lowercase, since 1994 the Government of Canada has recommended the word be always capitalized (like, for example, Asian, Hispanic, and Nordic) and that it be used as a modifier, not a proper noun. It is used in this way by the Canadian Hansard and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.

The U.S. Chicago Manual of Style recommends to capitalize ethnic groups and their associated adjectives: “Aborigines; an Aborigine; Aboriginal art”.

References

aboriginal

aboriginal

See also: Aboriginal

English

Adjective

aboriginal (comparative more aboriginal, superlative most aboriginal)

  1. First according to historical or scientific records; original; indigenous; primitive. [First attested in the mid 17th century.][1]
    • 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion, Longman et al., page 277:
      Green in the Church-yard, beautiful and green; / [] / And mantled o'er with aboriginal turf / And everlasting flowers.
  2. Living in a land before colonization by the Europeans. [First attested in the late 17th century.][1]
  3. Alternative letter-case form of Aboriginal [First attested in the late 18th century.][1]

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

aboriginal (plural aboriginals)

  1. An animal or plant native to a region. [First attested in the mid 18th century.][1]
    • (Can we date this quote?), Charles Darwin, (Please provide the title of the work):
      It may well be doubted whether this frog is an aboriginal of these islands.
  2. Alternative letter-case form of Aboriginal [First attested in the mid 18th century.][1]

Translations

Usage notes

  • Using uncapitalized aboriginal to refer to people or anything associated with people may cause offence.
  • In Canada, style manuals recommend against using the noun Aboriginal for a person or people.
  • See also the usage notes under Aboriginal.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 6

Spanish

Noun

aboriginal m, f (plural aboriginales)

  1. Aborigine (original inhabitant of Australia)

Synonyms