ABORIGINAL

aboriginal, primal, primeval, primaeval, primordial

(adjective) having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state; “aboriginal forests”; “primal eras before the appearance of life on earth”; “the forest primeval”; “primordial matter”; “primordial forms of life”

native, aboriginal

(adjective) characteristic of or relating to people inhabiting a region from the beginning; “native Americans”; “the aboriginal peoples of Australia”

native, indigen, indigene, aborigine, aboriginal

(noun) an indigenous person who was born in a particular place; “the art of the natives of the northwest coast”; “the Canadian government scrapped plans to tax the grants to aboriginal college students”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

aboriginal (comparative more aboriginal, superlative most aboriginal)

First according to historical or scientific records; original; indigenous; primitive. [First attested in the mid 17th century.]

Living in a land before colonization by the Europeans. [First attested in the late 17th century.]

Alternative letter-case form of Aboriginal [First attested in the late 18th century.]

Synonyms

• (indigenous to a place): native, indigenous, autochthonous, endemic, original, first, earliest, primitive, ancient, primordial, primeval

Noun

aboriginal (plural aboriginals)

An animal or plant native to a region. [First attested in the mid 18th century.]

Alternative letter-case form of Aboriginal [First attested in the mid 18th century.]

Usage notes

• Using uncapitalized aboriginal to refer to people or anything associated with people may cause offence.

• In Canada and Australia, style manuals recommend against using the noun Aboriginal for a person or people.

• See also the usage notes under Aboriginal.

Etymology

Adjective

Aboriginal (comparative more Aboriginal, superlative most Aboriginal)

Of or pertaining to Australian Aboriginal peoples, Aborigines, or their language. [First attested in the 19th century.]

Alternative letter-case form of aboriginal

Synonyms

• (of Aborigines): aboriginal, Aborigine, aborigine

• (of Aboriginal peoples): aboriginal, Native, native, Native American, First Nations, First Peoples, Indian, Eskimo, Inuit, Metis

Noun

Aboriginal (plural Aboriginals)

An Aboriginal inhabitant of Australia, Aborigine. [First attested in the 19th century.]

Alternative letter-case form of aboriginal

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

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”.

Source: Wiktionary

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Ab`o*rig"i*nal, a. Etym: [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 Hindoo of aboriginal blood.

Ab`o*rig"i*nal, n.

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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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