indigenous
Native to a land, especially before colonization.
Adjective 3 meanings
Native to a land, especially before colonization.
“The Aboriginals were indigenous to Victoria before the World War.”
Innate, inborn.
Original to a geographical area.
“That style of pottery is indigenous to that region.”
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.
Similar and opposite words
INDIGENOUS at a glance
INDIGENOUS has 10 letters and scores 12 points in Scrabble (I 1 + N 1 + D 2 + I 1 + G 2 + E 1 + N 1 + O 1 + U 1 + S 1) and 16 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #5,411 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with indigenous
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