Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Aborigines” come from?

Aborigines derives from Latin aborigines, formed from Latin ab meaning "from" and Latin orior meaning "to rise or originate."

Aborigines (English): plural of Aborigine

Definitions

  1. plural of Aborigine

Ancestry of “Aborigines”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinAborīginēs—
2Latinorīgō—
3Latin-igoEnlargement of -ō; Suffixed to nouns and to...
4Proto-Italicagōdrive; push, impel; do, act
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éǵetito be driving
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- →