Aboriginal
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English [edit]
Alternative forms [edit]
Etymology [edit]
- From aborigine + -al, aborigine being from Latin ab origine (“from the beginning”).
- One school of thought involves in Roman times, the name of one of the original tribes in the area of Rome being with a name similar to ab origine and that name meant original inhabitant, and then the word ab origine was formed to sound like the stated tribe. Others regard that as folk etymology.
Pronunciation [edit]
- (US) IPA: /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.n̩.l̩/, /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪn.l̩/ X-SAMPA: /{b@'rIdZ@n(@)l/
- Hyphenation: ab‧orig‧in‧al
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Audio (UK) (file)
Adjective [edit]
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 capitalization of aboriginal
Synonyms [edit]
- (of Aborigines): aboriginal, Aborigine, aborigine
- (of Aboriginal peoples): aboriginal, Native, native, Native American, First Nations, First Peoples, Indian, Eskimo, Inuit, Metis
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Noun [edit]
Aboriginal (plural Aboriginals)
- An Aboriginal inhabitant of Australia, Aborigine. [First attested in the 19th century.]
- Alternative capitalization of aboriginal
Translations [edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Usage notes [edit]
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 [edit]
Aboriginal
- Any of the native languages spoken by Australian aborigines.
Usage notes [edit]
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 widely used otherwise, 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 [edit]
- “Aboriginal” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
- “Aboriginal” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
- “Aboriginal people(s)” in the Terminology Guide, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
- “Capitalized: ‘Aboriginal peoples in Canada’” in the NatNews-north email list
- “Letters About Mulatto and Malignity” (editor's note), CBC.ca
- University of Chicago (2003). The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, p 325. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226104036
- “Aboriginal peoples in Canada” in Wikipedia
