Etymologically
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aboriginal

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:33. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəl/[1]
  • US: /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəl/, /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.nəl/[1]

Etymology

It was formed in English from the Latin phrase ab orīgine (“from the beginning”) with the suffix -al,[2] or, as Etymonline, the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English put it, from the earlier English plural aborigines and the suffix.[3][4][5] The plural is Latin aborīginēs (“original inhabitants”), the name of the first inhabitants of Latium and the ancestors of the Romans;[3][2] it may be a tribal name that was associated with, or made to conform to, ab orīgine.[3][6] That phrase is made of ab (“from”) and the ablative of orīgō (“beginning, source”), from the stem of orior (“to rise”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

First or earliest as recorded by history; present from the beginning: 1650, in Edward Williams's Virgo Triumphans.[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1660s, and Merriam-Webster gives 1650.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word was used especially of the inhabitants of lands colonized by Europeans: from 1698 it described peoples living in a country before the colonists arrived,[2][3] while from 1693 it meant belonging to the earliest known inhabitants of a land.[2] The Australian sense, often with a capital, is found from 1820 according to Etymonline, or 1825 in the OED.[3][2] The noun, an original inhabitant, dates from 1749,[2][7] or 1760 according to Etymonline,[3] and was used of Aboriginal Australians from 1828 and for their languages from 1845.[2]

Timeline

  • 1650 – first or earliest; present from the beginning.[2][7]
  • 1693 – belonging to the earliest inhabitants of a land.[2]
  • 1698 – inhabiting a country before European colonization.[2]
  • 1749 – noun, an original inhabitant.[2][7]
  • 1820 – of the Indigenous peoples of Australia, in Etymonline's dating.[3]
  • 1825 – of the Indigenous peoples of Australia.[2]
  • 1828 – noun, an Aboriginal Australian.[2]
  • 1845 – noun, an Australian Aboriginal language.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Existing in a place from the earliest known times; indigenous, native: the island's aboriginal forests.
  2. Of or relating to the Indigenous peoples of a land, as distinguished from later colonists or settlers.
  3. Aboriginal: of or relating to the Indigenous peoples of Australia or their languages.

Noun

  1. An original inhabitant of a land; an aborigine.
  2. Aboriginal: an Aboriginal Australian.

Word family

  • aboriginally
  • aboriginality

Usage notes

In Australia, Aboriginal does not cover all the country's Indigenous peoples, and the fuller phrase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander is often used; the Australian government recommends First Australian or First Nations Australian.[6] For Aboriginal Australians, both Aborigines and Aboriginals are standard plurals.[8] Etymonline notes that aboriginal was long considered the correct English singular, aborigine being a back-formation from the plural first recorded in 1858.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press