noun · masculinethird declension
aborīginēs
aborīginēs m pl (genitive aborīginum)
Classical[a.bɔˈriː.ɡɪ.neːs]Ecclesiastical[a.boˈriː.d͡ʒi.nes]
Meaning
- aborigines (original inhabitants)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | — | aborīginēs |
| genitive | — | aborīginum |
| dative | — | aborīginibus |
| accusative | — | aborīginēs |
| ablative | — | aborīginibus |
| vocative | — | aborīginēs |
Ăbŏrīgĭnes, um, m. ab-origo,
I. the primeval Romans, the Aborigines, the nation which, previous to historical record, descended from the Apennines, and, advancing from Carseoli and Reate into the plain, drove out the Siculi; the ancestors of the Romans, Cato ap. Serv. ad Verg. A. 1, 6; Varr. L. L. 5, § 53 Müll.; Cic. Rep. 2, 3; Sall. C. 6; Liv. 1, 1.
I. Used as an appellative, original inhabitants, Plin. 4, 21, 36, § 120: Indigenae sunt inde ... geniti, quos vocant aborigines Latini, Graeci αὐτόχθονας, Serv. ad Verg. A. 8, 328.—
II. Hence, ăbŏrīgĭnĕus, a, um, adj., aboriginal:
sacellum, Ter. Maur. p. 2425 P.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Aborīginēs um, m
ab + origo, the first ancestors of the Romans, L., S.
Origins
Unclear. The term is often suggested to derive from ab orīgine (“from the beginning”). However, early Latin sources seem to treat it as the name of a specific people rather than a general term for original inhabitants of anywhere, so it may be the pre-Roman substrate name of a specific tribe which was altered to resemble ab orīgine due to folk etymology. (Roman authors also suggested several other possible origins, like aberrō or ab + Ancient Greek ὄρος (óros, “mountain”), none of which is considered probable.)
Descendants
- Englishaborigines
- Englishaborigine
- Portugueseaborígenefrom Old Galician-Portuguese aborigenes
- Spanishaborigenfrom Old Spanish aborigines
- Galicianaborixefrom Old Galician-Portuguese aborigenes