Main Entry: Aus·tro·ne·sian

Pronunciation: \ˌȯs-trə-ˈnē-zhən, ˌäs-, -shən\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Austronesia, islands of the southern Pacific

Date: 1925

: of, relating to, or constituting a family of languages spoken in the area extending from Madagascar eastward through the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago to Hawaii and Easter Island and including practically all the native languages of the Pacific islands with the exception of the Australian and Papuan languages