Etymologically
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indigenous

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪnˈdɪd͡ʒənəs/, /ɪnˈdɪd͡ʒɪnəs/; /ɪnˈdɪdʒɪnəs/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin indigena (“a native; sprung from the land”) and -ous,[2][3][4] or from Late Latin indigenus, born in a country,[3][5] from Old Latin indu (“in, within”) (from endo) and -gena, from the root of gignere (“to beget”),[3][2][4] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *gene- (“to give birth, beget”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Born or produced naturally in a land or region, native: 1646.[2][6] Etymonline dates it to the 1640s.[3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that Wycliffe's Bible (1382) rendered Latin indigena as withinneborn.[3] Of or for the natives, vernacular, is from 1844,[6] and figuratively inborn or innate from before 1864.[6] Of peoples, the original inhabitants of a region as distinct from later settlers, is now a common sense.[7][8]

Timeline

  • 1382 – withinneborn, in Wycliffe.[3]
  • 1646 – native to a land.[2][6]
  • 1844 – of the natives.[6]
  • before 1864 – innate.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.
  2. Of the original inhabitants of a region: indigenous peoples.

Word family

  • indigenously
  • indigenousness
  • nonindigenous

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins