Papuan

[ pap-yoo-uhn ]

adjective

1. of or relating to New Guinea or to Papua New Guinea.
2. noting or pertaining to the Indigenous Black peoples of New Guinea.
3. of or relating to any of the unaffiliated languages indigenous to New Guinea and other islands nearby, especially Timor, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Moluccas, and the Solomons.

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of New Guinea or Papua New Guinea.
2. any of the Papuan languages.

ˈPapuan

/ ˈpæpjʊən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Papua or any of the languages spoken there

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Papua New Guinea
2. any of several languages of Papua New Guinea that apparently do not belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family

Word History and Origins

Origin of Papuan¹

First recorded in 1805–15; Papu(a) + -an

Example Sentences

They would come close in-shore, and I would spear them from the rocks with a Papuan fishing-spear.

From Project Gutenberg

Naturally the Papuan influx affected chiefly the northern part of Central Australia.

From Project Gutenberg

The Papuan races likewise wandered far across the Indian Ocean.

From Project Gutenberg

In their beginnings, these factors already manifest themselves in the wanderings of the Papuan and Negrito tribes.

From Project Gutenberg

The inhabitants were fleeing away from us in their curious canoes, which, unlike most Papuan canoes, had no outrigger whatever.

From Project Gutenberg