indigenous

adj

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.

1. Native to a land, especially before colonization.

   “The Aboriginals were indigenous to Victoria before the World War.”

   “Not only the Indian, but many indigenous insects, birds, and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple-tree to these shores.”

2. Native to a land, especially before colonization.

   “The Ainu are the indigenous ethnic group of Japan's Hokkaido Island.”

   “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.”

3. Innate, inborn.

   “She was a native and essential cook, as much as Aunt Chloe,—cooking being an indigenous talent of the African race.”

   “He had all the tricks of a newspaper boy indigenous in him.”

4. Original to a geographical area.

   “That style of pottery is indigenous to that region.”