Indigenous

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indigenous¹

  • /ɪnˈdɪdʒɪnəs/ UK
  • /ɪnˈdɪd͡ʒənəs/ US
  • /ɪnˈdɪd͡ʒɪnəs/ US
  • /ɪnˈdaɪ.d͡ʒɛ.nʊs/ Philippines

Rhymes with -ɪdʒɪnəs, -ɪdʒənəs

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Late Latin indigenus (“native, born in a country”), from indi- (indu-), an old derivative of in (“in”), gen- the root of gignō (“give birth to”), and English -ous. Compare indigene, Ancient Greek ἐνδογενής (endogenḗs, “born in the house”), and the separately formed piecewise doublet endogenous. Unrelated to Indian.

adjective

  1. not comparable Native to a land, especially before colonization. The Aboriginals were indigenous to Victoria before the World War.
  2. not comparable In particular, of or relating to a people (or their language or culture) that inhabited a region prior to the arrival of people of other cultures which became dominant (e.g., through colonialism), and which maintains a distinct culture. The Ainu are the indigenous ethnic group of Japan's Hokkaido Island.
  3. not comparable Innate, inborn. She was a native and essential cook, as much as Aunt Chloe,—cooking being an indigenous talent of the African race.
  4. not comparable Original to a geographical area. That style of pottery is indigenous to that region.

Similar: aboriginal, autochthonous, local, natural

Indigenous²

adjective

  1. not comparable Alternative letter-case form of indigenous (“native, relating to the native inhabitants of a land”).indigenous Many Indigenous people use the day not only to remember the suffering inflicted in the 1620s but also to point out the struggles that Indigenous people continue to face today in the form of, on top of so much else, violence against women and girls.

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