aborigine

noun

1
: a member of the original people to inhabit an area especially as contrasted with an invading or colonizing people
2
often capitalized : a member of any of the indigenous peoples of Australia

Examples of aborigine in a Sentence

a national sport whose origins can be traced to an ancient game first played by the aborigines
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Guanches were aborigines of the Canary Islands. Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 21 Feb. 2024 Breuil based his conclusions on contemporary anthropological observations of the Arunta aborigines in central Australia. Roger Lewin, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from aborigines, plural, borrowed from Latin Aborīginēs, a pre-Roman people of Latium

Note: The Latin name was variously interpreted by ancient authors, though modern etymologies tend to claim that the word is a parasynthetic derivative from the phrase ab origine, "from the beginning/first appearance." This would make sense if the word was formed as a generic name for "first inhabitants," though earlier Latin sources (Cato, Varro) treated it as the name of a specific people. According to Serviusʼs commentary on the Aeneid, Virgil intended "Aboriginum reges" in the line "aliique ab origine reges/Martiaque ob patriam pugnando uolnera passi" (Aeneid 7.180) ["others kings by birth, who suffered battle wounds fighting for their country"], " … sed est metro prohibitus" ["but the meter prohibits it"]. The lexical antiquarian Sextus Pompeius Festus, on the other hand, suggests a connection with aberrāre, "to wander off," as does the Origo gentis Romanae (late 4th century a.d.), which also proffers Greek óros, "mountain." None of these etymologies seem probable.

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of aborigine was in 1593

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Cite this Entry

“Aborigine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aborigine. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

aborigine

noun
1
: a member of the original people to live in an area : native
2
often capitalized : a member of any of the Indigenous people of Australia
Etymology

from Latin aborigines "original inhabitants," from ab origine "from the beginning," from origin-, origo "beginning, source," from oriri "to rise" — related to origin

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