Aboriginal

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See also: aboriginal

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From aborigine +‎ -al, aborigine being from Latin ab origine (from the beginning).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəl/
    • (file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.n̩.l̩/, /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪn.l̩/
  • Hyphenation: Ab‧orig‧in‧al

Adjective

Aboriginal (comparative more Aboriginal, superlative most Aboriginal)

  1. Of or pertaining to Australian Aboriginal peoples, Aborigines, or their language.
    • 1991, Barry J. Blake, Australian Aboriginal Languages: A General Introduction, page 75:
      Academics who study Aboriginal languages are [...] contributing to Man’s search for knowledge, a search that interests most people even if they are not personally involved in it.
  2. Alternative letter-case form of aboriginal

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

Aboriginal (plural Aboriginals)

  1. An Aboriginal inhabitant of Australia.
  2. 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.

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

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