ABORIGINAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does aboriginal mean? 

• ABORIGINAL (noun)
  The noun ABORIGINAL has 1 sense:

1. an indigenous person who was born in a particular place

  Familiarity information: ABORIGINAL used as a noun is very rare.

• ABORIGINAL (adjective)
  The adjective ABORIGINAL has 2 senses:

1. characteristic of or relating to people inhabiting a region from the beginning

2. having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state

  Familiarity information: ABORIGINAL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ABORIGINAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An indigenous person who was born in a particular place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

aboriginal; aborigine; indigen; indigene; native

Context example:

the Canadian government scrapped plans to tax the grants to aboriginal college students

Hypernyms ("aboriginal" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "aboriginal"):

Levantine ((formerly) a native or inhabitant of the Levant)

Mauritian (a native or inhabitant of Mauritius)

Filipino (a native or inhabitant of the Philippines)

Russian (a native or inhabitant of Russia)

Seychellois (a native or inhabitant of Seychelles)

Derivation:

aboriginal (characteristic of or relating to people inhabiting a region from the beginning)

• ABORIGINAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Characteristic of or relating to people inhabiting a region from the beginning

Synonyms:

aboriginal; native

Context example:

the aboriginal peoples of Australia

Derivation:

aboriginal; aborigine (an indigenous person who was born in a particular place)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state

Synonyms:

aboriginal; primaeval; primal; primeval; primordial

Context example:

primordial forms of life

Similar:

early (at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time)

 Context examples 

The term is used specifically to refer to aboriginal populations, e.g.

(Indigenous, NCI Thesaurus)

Aboriginal rangers have discovered new evidence of one of Australia’s rarest and most mysterious birds.

(Aboriginal Rangers Find Evidence of One of Australia’s Rarest Birds, VOA)

“Oh, of course! It's no fun,” said Steerforth, “unless we take them by surprise. Let us see the natives in their aboriginal condition.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)