English
aborigines
Aborigines comes from Latin aborīginēs, from orīgō ‘from the beginning’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- ‘to rise, to spring’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃er-1‘to rise, to spring’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oriōr1‘to rise, get up’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorior1‘to originate, to be born’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorīgō2as orīgine‘from the beginning’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaborīginēs3
- Englishearliest quotation 1869aborigines3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin origo
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin aborigines
- 3 Wiktionary, English aborigines
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago: “There seems little doubt that the aborigines of Banda…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃er-Wiktionary, Latin origo‘to rise, to spring’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oriōrWiktionary, Latin origo‘to rise, get up’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoriorWiktionary, Latin origo‘to originate, to be born’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEorīgōWiktionary, Latin aboriginesas orīgine‘from the beginning’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaborīginēsWiktionary, English aborigines
- Englishearliest quotation 1869aboriginesWiktionary, English aborigines. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago: “There seems little doubt that the aborigines of Banda…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- ‘to rise, to spring’
run, ride, earn, orient, irritate, irritable, ornithology, erne, orogeny, 13 more
through Latin orior ‘to originate, to be born’
originally, abortion, abort, originality, origination, orienteering, 4 more
through Latin orīgō ‘from the beginning’
Today it means
noun The original people of a location; originally used of ancient Greek and Roman peoples.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “aborigines”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin origo, Latin aborigines. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- / aborigines