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Indian vs Aboriginal - What's the difference?

indian | aboriginal | Synonyms |

Indian is a synonym of aboriginal.


As nouns the difference between indian and aboriginal

is that indian is indian, american indian (a member of one of the indigenous peoples of the americas) while aboriginal is an animal or plant native to a region .

As a adjective aboriginal is

first according to historical or scientific records; original; indigenous; primitive .

indian

English

Adjective

(-)
  • Of or relating to India or its people; or (formerly) of the East Indies.
  • (obsolete) Eastern; Oriental.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , volume 10:
    • The morrow next apprear'd with purple hayre / Yet dropping fresh out of the Indian fount, / And bringing light into the heavens fayre .
  • (dated) Of or relating to the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
  • (North America) Of foods: made with Indian corn or maize.
    • Indian''' bread; '''Indian meal
  • (chess) Designating any of various chess openings now characterised by black's attempt to control the board through knights and fianchettoed bishops rather than with a central pawn advance.

    • Synonyms

    * (of or or relating to India or its people) (l), (l) * (of or related to indigenous peoples of the Americas) (l), (l), (l) (chiefly Canadian), (l)

    Derived terms

    * Amerindian (American Indian) * Hindian (Asian Indian) * Indian clover * Indian elephant * Indian file * Indian giving * Indian Ocean * Indian red * Indian sign * Indian style * Indian sunburn * Indian tea * too many chiefs and not enough Indians *

    Related terms

    * Indo-

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person from India.
  • A member of one of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (generally excluding the Aleut, Inuit, Metis, or Yupik).
  • *
  • (UK, colloquial) A meal at (or taken away from) an Indian restaurant.
    • We're going out tonight for an Indian .

    Synonyms

    * (person from India) Asian Indian * (indigenous person of the Americas) Amerindian, Native American, Red Indian * (indigenous person of the Americas) Native Canadian, First Nations person * See also

    Proper noun

    (en proper noun)
  • (nonstandard) Any language spoken by Indians.

    • Statistics

    * ----

    aboriginal

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • First according to historical or scientific records; original; indigenous; primitive.
  • * 1814 , , The Excursion , Longman et al. (publishers), [http://books.google.com/books?id=T18JAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA277&dq=aboriginal page 277]:
    • Green in the Church-yard, beautiful and green; / / And mantled o'er with aboriginal turf / And everlasting flowers.
  • Living in a land before colonization by the Europeans.
  • (Aboriginal)

    • Synonyms

    * (indigenous to a place) native, indigenous, autochthonous, endemic, original, first, earliest, primitive, ancient, primordial, primeval

    Derived terms

    * aboriginality * aboriginally

    Related terms

    * aborigine

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An animal or plant native to a region.
  • * Charles Darwin
    • It may well be doubted whether this frog is an aboriginal of these islands.
  • (Aboriginal)

    • Usage notes

    * Using uncapitalized aboriginal to refer to people or anything associated with people may cause offence. * In Canada, style manuals recommend against using the noun Aboriginal for a person or people. * See also the usage notes under Aboriginal .

    References

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