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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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. another name for Malayo-Polynesian
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of Austronesian1

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

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

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

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AustronesiaAustro-Prussian War