English
indigenous
Indigenous comes from Late Latin indigenus ‘native, born in a country’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥dó ‘into, inside’, and ultimately from *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én‘in’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁n̥dó‘into, inside’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*endogenosreconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEindigenus‘native, born in a country’
- Englishearliest quotation 1851indigenous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én‘in’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁n̥dó‘into, inside’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*endogenosreconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEindigenus‘native, born in a country’
- Englishearliest quotation 1851indigenous
Earliest quotation: 1851, – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe: “She was a native and essential cook, as much…”
The story
Unrelated to Indian.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
general, kind, nature, king, nation, german, native, pregnant, generation, engine, gender, genetic, ken, gene, oxygen, genuine, gentle, genius, genre, naive, hydrogen, genocide, kin, noel, natal, innate, nee, nativity, genus, nada, genital, naïve, germ, janata, nascent, puny, gentile, ingenious, cognate, jaunty, 115 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’
in, internal, entrance, encounter, intimate, impulse, ensemble, intern, intestine, incubation, incense, dysentery, impel, incubate, incubus, agog, interregnum, intimation, enteral, censer, 31 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥dó ‘into, inside’
Today it means
adj Native to a land, especially before colonization.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / indigenous