Austronesian

[ aw-stroh-nee-zhuhn, -shuhn ]

noun

1. Also called Malayo-Polynesian. a family of languages spoken in the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Madagascar, and Oceania.

adjective

1. of or relating to Austronesia or the Austronesian family of languages; Malayo-Polynesian.

Austronesian

/ ˌɒstrəʊˈniːʒən; -ʃən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Austronesia, its peoples, or their languages

noun

1. another name for Malayo-Polynesian

Word History and Origins

Origin of Austronesian¹

First recorded in 1900–05; Austronesi(a) + -an

Example Sentences

Between about 4,000 and 750 years ago, for instance, sea-faring farmers spread Austronesian languages from southern China and Taiwan to Madagascar in the west and Polynesia in the east.

From Science News

The Austronesian languages spread from these areas over thousands of miles beyond.

From Project Gutenberg

All subsequent migrations were of Austronesian-speaking peoples from Indonesia.

From Project Gutenberg