AUSTRONESIAN

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Austronesian mean? 

• AUSTRONESIAN (noun)
  The noun AUSTRONESIAN has 2 senses:

1. a native or inhabitant of Austronesia

2. the family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia

  Familiarity information: AUSTRONESIAN used as a noun is rare.

• AUSTRONESIAN (adjective)
  The adjective AUSTRONESIAN has 1 sense:

1. of or relating to or characteristic of Austronesia or its people or culture

  Familiarity information: AUSTRONESIAN used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AUSTRONESIAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A native or inhabitant of Austronesia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Austronesian" is a kind of...):

denizen; dweller; habitant; indweller; inhabitant (a person who inhabits a particular place)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Austronesian"):

Nauruan (a native or inhabitant of Nauru)

Polynesian (a native or inhabitant of Polynesia)

Holonyms ("Austronesian" is a member of...):

Austronesia (islands of central and South Pacific (Indonesia and Melanesia and Micronesia and Polynesia))

Derivation:

Austronesian (of or relating to or characteristic of Austronesia or its people or culture)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Austronesian; Austronesian language

Hypernyms ("Austronesian" is a kind of...):

natural language; tongue (a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Austronesian"):

Malayo-Polynesian; Polynesian (the branch of the Austronesian languages spoken from Madagascar to the central Pacific)

Aboriginal Australian; Australian (the Austronesian languages spoken by Australian aborigines)

Formosan (the Austronesian languages spoken on Formosa)

Derivation:

Austronesian (of or relating to or characteristic of Austronesia or its people or culture)

• AUSTRONESIAN (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to or characteristic of Austronesia or its people or culture

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

Austronesia (islands of central and South Pacific (Indonesia and Melanesia and Micronesia and Polynesia))

Derivation:

Austronesia (islands of central and South Pacific (Indonesia and Melanesia and Micronesia and Polynesia))

Austronesian (the family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia)

Austronesian (a native or inhabitant of Austronesia)