Austronesian

//ˌɔːs.tɹoʊˈniː.ʒən// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Pertaining to the Austronesian language family.

    "an Austronesian language"

  2. 2
    Of or pertaining to Austronesia.

    "Taitung County, with seven Indigenous peoples of Austronesian descent -- Amis, Paiwan, Bunun, Rukai, Pinuyumayan (also known as the Puyuma), Yami (also known as the Tao), and Kavalan -- is the most diverse region in Taiwan in terms of Austronesian culture, offering students a chance to apply their research to real-world scenarios and engage in intimate observations of how indigenous groups grapple with the challenges of modern times, Chen said."

Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to or characteristic of Austronesia or its people or culture wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A speaker of an Austronesian language, especially a member of the ancient maritime culture that spread Austronesian languages across the Pacific from Taiwan.
  2. 2
    the family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia wordnet
  3. 3
    a native or inhabitant of Austronesia wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Austronesisch; coined by Wilhelm Schmidt. From Latin austro- (“southern”) + Ancient Greek νῆσος (nêsos, “island”) + -ian.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Austronesisch; coined by Wilhelm Schmidt. From Latin austro- (“southern”) + Ancient Greek νῆσος (nêsos, “island”) + -ian.

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