indigenous

• Indigenous

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 endogenous.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdɪdʒɪnəs/
• (General American) enPR: ĭn-dĭj′ə-nəs, ĭn-dĭj′ĭ-nəs, IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdɪdʒənəs/, /ɪnˈdɪdʒɪnəs/

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• Rhymes: -ɪdʒɪnəs, -ɪdʒənəs
• Hyphenation: in‧dig‧e‧nous

indigenous (not comparable)

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.

3. Of or relating to the native inhabitants of a land.
4. Of or relating to a language, culture, or ethnic group that has not spread by colonization, or that has been on the receiving end of colonization.

• (born or engendered in): aboriginal, autochthonous, native; See also Thesaurus:native
• (innate, inborn): connatural, natural; See also Thesaurus:innate
• (relating to the native inhabitants of a land): local