aboriginal

noun

plural aboriginals

1

dated : aborigine sense 1

New World aboriginals

2

Aboriginal plural Aboriginals, dated, often offensive : aborigine sense 2

Note: In reference to Indigenous people of Australia, use of the noun Aboriginal is often considered offensive. Use of the adjective Aboriginal, as in "Aboriginal nations," is preferred.

Synonyms of aboriginal

• aborigine

Examples of aboriginal in a Sentence

they still speak the language of the region's aboriginals

Recent Examples on the Web

Those clauses were removed in the 1960s, leaving no mention of aboriginals at all. —The Economist, 5 July 2018

These people are too far away to show a direct link between them and the Clovis in such a way that indicates the Clovis being the aboriginals of South America. —Adam Rutherford, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2017

The students paddled and portaged through the park, following the routes once traveled by aboriginals and French-Canadian voyageurs. —Daily Southtown, 30 Aug. 2017

Our criminals built nice roads in Australia but aboriginals keep using them as a bed. —Alan Feuer and Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times, 2 June 2017

Word History

Etymology

noun derivative of aboriginal entry 1

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for aboriginal

• unoriginal
• original

Kids Definition

aboriginal

adjective

ab·​orig·​i·​nal

ˌab-ə-ˈrij-nəl, 

-ən-ᵊl

1

: being the first of its kind in a region : indigenous

2

: of, relating to, or being aborigines

aboriginally

-ē

adverb