Indigenous

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ɪnˈdɪdÊ’.ɪ.nÉ™s/, /ɪnˈdɪdÊ’.É™n.É™s/

Origin

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 and ancient Greek ἐνδογενής (endogenēs), "endogenous".

Full definition of indigenous

Adjective

1. (chiefly of living things) Born or engendered in, native to a land or region, especially before an intrusion. from 17th c.
• 1862, Henry David Thoreau, "Wild Apples: The History of the Apple Tree":Not only the Indian, but many indigenous insects, birds, and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple-tree to these shores.
2. Innate, inborn. from 19th c.
• 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, ch. 18:She was a native and essential cook, as much as Aunt Chloe,—cooking being an indigenous talent of the African race.
• 1883, George MacDonald, "Stephen Archer" in Stephen Archer and Other Tales:He had all the tricks of a newspaper boy indigenous in him.

Synonyms

• (born or engendered in) aboriginal, autochthonous, native

Derived terms

• indigenity
• indigenously
• indigenousness
• nonindigenous