aborigine

views updated May 18 2018

ab·o·rig·i·ne / ˌabəˈrijənē/ • n. a person, animal, or plant that has been in a country or region from earliest times. ∎  (Aborigine) an aboriginal inhabitant of Australia.ORIGIN: mid 19th cent.: back-formation from the 16th-cent. plural aborigines ‘original inhabitants’ (in classical times referring to those of Italy and Greece), from the Latin phrase ab origine ‘from the beginning.’

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