English Dictionary |
PAPUAN
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
Dictionary entry overview: What does Papuan mean?
• PAPUAN (noun)
The noun PAPUAN has 2 senses:
1. a native or inhabitant of Papua New Guinea or New Guinea
2. any of the indigenous languages spoken in Papua New Guinea or New Britain or the Solomon Islands that are not Malayo-Polynesian languages
Familiarity information: PAPUAN used as a noun is rare.
• PAPUAN (adjective)
The adjective PAPUAN has 1 sense:
1. of or relating to Papua or its people or language
Familiarity information: PAPUAN used as an adjective is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A native or inhabitant of Papua New Guinea or New Guinea
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("Papuan" is a kind of...):
Indonesian (a native or inhabitant of Indonesia)
Holonyms ("Papuan" is a member of...):
New Guinea (a Pacific island to the north of Australia; the 2nd largest island in the world; the western part is governed by Indonesia and the eastern part is Papua New Guinea)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Any of the indigenous languages spoken in Papua New Guinea or New Britain or the Solomon Islands that are not Malayo-Polynesian languages
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
Papuan; Papuan language
Hypernyms ("Papuan" is a kind of...):
natural language; tongue (a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language)
Derivation:
Papuan (of or relating to Papua or its people or language)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Of or relating to Papua or its people or language
Classified under:
Relational adjectives (pertainyms)
Context example:
Papuan vowels
Pertainym:
Papua (the southeastern part of Papua New Guinea)
Derivation:
Papua (the southeastern part of Papua New Guinea)
Papuan (any of the indigenous languages spoken in Papua New Guinea or New Britain or the Solomon Islands that are not Malayo-Polynesian languages)
Context examples
The man-eatin' Papuans had me once, but they are Chesterfields compared to this crowd.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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