Aboriginal

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Alternative forms 1.2 Etymology 1.3 Pronunciation 1.4 Adjective 1.4.1 Synonyms 1.4.2 Derived terms 1.4.3 Related terms 1.4.4 Translations 1.5 Noun 1.5.1 Translations 1.5.2 Usage notes 1.6 Proper noun 1.7 Usage notes 1.8 References

[edit] English

[edit] Alternative forms

• aboriginal

[edit] Etymology

Attested 1660–70. From aborigine (1540–50) + -al, in turn a back-formation from plural aborigines, from Latin, applied in classical times to indigenous peoples of Italy and Greece, probably from ab origine (“‘from the beginning’”).

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /æbəˈrɪdʒən(ə)l/, SAMPA: /{b@'rIdZ@n(@)l/
• Hyphenation: ab‧orig‧in‧al
•  Audio (UK)^{help, file}

[edit] Adjective

Aboriginal (comparative more Aboriginal, superlative most Aboriginal)

1. Of or pertaining to Australian Aboriginal peoples, Aborigines.
2. Of or pertaining to Aboriginal peoples.
3. Alternative capitalization of aboriginal.

[edit] Synonyms

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

[edit] Derived terms

• Aboriginal people
• Aboriginal peoples
• Aboriginal rights
• Aboriginal title

[edit] Related terms

• Aborigine, aborigine
• (slang, usually offensive) Abo, abo

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

Aboriginal (plural Aboriginals)

1. An Aboriginal inhabitant of Australia, Aborigine.
2. An Aboriginal inhabitant, person, animal, or plant native to the region. Also aboriginal.

   It may well be doubted whether this frog is an aboriginal of these islands. - Darwin.

[edit] Translations

[edit] 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.

[edit] Proper noun

Singular Aboriginal

Plural -

Aboriginal

1. Any of the native languages spoken by Australian aborigines.

[edit] 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 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”.

[edit] References

• “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