Dictionary

indigenous en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• ĭn-dĭj′ĭ-nəs (General-American)
• /ɪnˈdɪd͡ʒənəs/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• /ɪnˈdɪdʒɪnəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɪnˈdɪd͡ʒɪnəs/ (General-American)
• ĭn-dĭj′ə-nəs (General-American)
• /ɪnˈdaɪ.d͡ʒɛ.nʊs/ (Philippines)

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Native to a land, especially before colonization.
   • The Aboriginals were indigenous to Victoria before the World War.
   • Berlin is unique in being home to numerous East German converts to Islam who belong to the same German-speaking Muslim communities as West German converts. […] I attempt in this book to give a good sense of the diversity of contemporary indigenous Sunni Muslims in Germany, while pointing to commonalities and differences. 2015, Esra Özyürek, Being German, Becoming Muslim: Race, Religion, and Conversion in the New Europe, Princeton University Press, page 23:
   • Horses, like camels, had once been indigenous to Latin America but had become extinct. 1997, Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, Monthly Review Press, page 17:
   • Not only the Indian, but many indigenous insects, birds, and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple-tree to these shores. 1862, Henry David Thoreau, Wild Apples: The History of the Apple Tree:
2. (not-comparable) Native to a land, especially before colonization. ▸ 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 team auctioned off the right to name the new species to publicize the find and raise awareness and funds for the indigenous Lahu people of northern Thailand, a group that Sippawat is part of. 2023 September 26, Hafsa Khalil, “Electric blue tarantula species discovered in Thailand”, in CNN:
   • About 98 per cent of Taiwan's inhabitants are Han Chinese, a diverse mix of ethnic and linguistic groups, including Hakka, Cantonese and Fujianese, who came from China's southern coast. Taiwan's other two per cent are from one of the nine indigenous tribes, which are scattered throughout the island but largely concentrated along the east coast and in the Central Mountain Range. 2007 April, Julie Grundvig, “TAIWAN”, in The Asia Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the Continent, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 103, column 2:
   • Muksin specifically mentioned 11 extinct indigenous languages, such as Tandia and Mawes in West Papua and Papua, along with Kajeli, Piru, Moksela, Palumata, Ternateno, Hukumina, Hoti, Serua, and Nila in different areas of Maluku. 2024 March 8, Antara, “11 Indigenous Languages Declared Extinct: Education Ministry”, in Jakarta Globe:
   • 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. 1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, chapter 18, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published 20 March 1852, →OCLC:
   • He had all the tricks of a newspaper boy indigenous in him. 1883, George MacDonald, “Stephen Archer”, in Stephen Archer and Other Tales:
4. (not-comparable) Original to a geographical area.
   • That style of pottery is indigenous to that region.

Deriveds

Indigenous Peoples' Day · indigenist · indigenocide · indigenousness · nonindigenous · transindigenous · indigenous medicine · Amerind · indigeneity · indigenously · indigenization

Relateds

indigena · endogenous · indigent

Synonyms

autochthonous · aboriginal (native) · connatural (innate, inborn) · local · natural

Translations (84)

it innato (innate, inborn) · lad indijena (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · scn autòttunu (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · bg вроден (innate, inborn) · fr congénital (innate, inborn) · de angeboren (innate, inborn) · ru приро́дный (innate, inborn) · eo indiĝena (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · af inheems (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ru врождённый (innate, inborn) · ka აბორიგენული (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · es indígena (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · pt indígena (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · pt nato (innate, inborn) · de eingeboren (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · hy բնիկ (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · id inlander (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · et pärismaine (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · is infæddur (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · nl autochtoon (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · mi taketake (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · scn nnìgginu (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · fi synnynnäinen (innate, inborn) · fr autochtone (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ro indigen (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ru прирождённый (innate, inborn) · nb stedegen (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · fr inné (innate, inborn) · bg туземен (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · fr indigène (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · nl ingeboren (innate, inborn) · ar أَصْلِيّ (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · nl inheems (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · pl miejscowy (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ka ადგილობრივი (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ang inlende (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · scn arigginaru (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · id masyarakat adat (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ca indígena (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · nb innfødt (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ang inlendisc (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · bg местен (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · tkl tagatāfenua (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ka მკვიდრი (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · de intuitiv (innate, inborn) · de eingeboren (innate, inborn) · de indigen (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · gd tùsanach (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · de inländisch (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · he יְלִידִי (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · oc indigèna (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · grc αὐτόχθων (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ru ме́стный (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · id pribumi (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · fi alkuperäinen (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ru коренно́й (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · gl indíxena (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · cmn 在地的 (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · is frumbyggja- (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · nl overgeërfd (innate, inborn) · gl aborixe (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · nl aangeboren (innate, inborn) · fr aborigène (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · pt nativo (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · it indigeno (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · tkl tagatānuku (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · is innlendur (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · pl macierzysty (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · nl oorspronkelijk (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ru тузе́мный (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · sh urođen (innate, inborn) · scn nativu (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · la indigenus (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ro autohton (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · tr yerli (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · de einheimisch (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · ru автохто́нный (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · it congenito (innate, inborn) · tl katutubo (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · pt aborígene (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · pt aborígine (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · fa بومی (born or engendered in, native to a land or region) · is meðfæddur (innate, inborn) · ru абориге́нный (born or engendered in, native to a land or region)