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Indo-european

//ˌɪndəʊˌjʊəɹəˈpiːən// adj, name, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or relating to the family of languages originally spoken in Europe and Western Asia.

    "Of the great Indo-European family of languages the general principal was also that of one name for each individual[…]"

  2. 2
    Of or relating to the hypothetical parent language of the Indo-European language family.
  3. 3
    Of or relating to the hypothetical group of peoples that spread early Indo-European languages.

    "As there is no evidence for Indo-European apiculture, we have to reckon with foreign origin for κηρός […]."

  4. 4
    Of or relating to persons of mixed European and Indian or Indonesian ancestry. broadly, uncommon
Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to the former Indo-European people wordnet
  2. 2
    of or relating to the Indo-European language family wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A major language family which includes many of the native languages of Europe, Western Asia and India, with notable Indic, Iranian and European sub-branches.
  2. 2
    Proto-Indo-European: the hypothetical parent language of the Indo-European language family.
Noun
  1. 1
    A member of the original ethnolinguistic group hypothesized to have spoken Proto-Indo-European and thus to have been the ancestor for most of India and Western Eurasia.

    "Two theories of the origins of the Indo-Europeans currently compete. M. Gimbutas believes that early Indo-Europeans entered southeastern Europe from the Pontic Steppes starting ca. 4500 B.C. and spread from there. C. Renfrew equates early Indo-Europeans with early farmers who entered southeastern Europe from Asia Minor ca. 7000 BC and spread through the continent."

  2. 2
    the family of languages that by 1000 BC were spoken throughout Europe and in parts of southwestern and southern Asia wordnet
  3. 3
    A speaker of any Indo-European language (though especially an ancient one), or a member of an Indo-European culture, who is regarded as a continuation of the Proto-Indo-Europeans in terms of language, ancestry, or cultural affinity.

    "To the same direction points a recent revelation made by Professor Henning who identifies the Gutians or Kutians and Tukres of the ancient Near East that occur in the cuneiform inscriptions of the end of the 3rd millennium B.C. with historical Kuchi-Tocharians, this being the earliest appearance of the Indo-Europeans in history (cf. W. Henning, the first Indo-Europeans in history, "Society and History." […])."

  4. 4
    a member of the prehistoric people who spoke Proto-Indo European wordnet
  5. 5
    A European living in India or the Indies. rare

    "The sale of looted items persisted for a month, and quick profits were made by burghers and Indo-Europeans."

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  1. 6
    A person of mixed European and Indian or Indonesian ancestry. broadly, uncommon

Etymology

Etymology 1

Coined by English polymath Thomas Young in 1813, from Indo- + European, relating to the geographical extremes in India and Europe (which was valid before the discovery of Tocharian languages in the early 20th century).

Etymology 2

Coined by English polymath Thomas Young in 1813, from Indo- + European, relating to the geographical extremes in India and Europe (which was valid before the discovery of Tocharian languages in the early 20th century).

Etymology 3

Coined by English polymath Thomas Young in 1813, from Indo- + European, relating to the geographical extremes in India and Europe (which was valid before the discovery of Tocharian languages in the early 20th century).

See also for "indo-european"

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