Austroasiatic

A1U1S1T1R1O1A1S1I1A1T1I1C3
UK/ˌɔːstɹəʊˌeɪʒiˈætɪk/US/ˌɔstɹoʊˌeɪʒiˈætɪk/

adjective

Of the Austroasiatic languages, a major language family spoken in parts of Southeast Asia, India and the Nicobar Islands.

OriginGerman Austroasiatisch →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

adjectiveAustroasiatic (comparative more Austroasiatic, superlative most Austroasiatic)

comparative more Austroasiatic · superlative most Austroasiatic · alternative Austro-Asiatic

  1. Of the Austroasiatic languages, a major language family spoken in parts of Southeast Asia, India and the Nicobar Islands.
  2. Australasian.

    This haemoglobin variant emerged in an Austroasiatic people and subsequently diffused throughout southeast Asia and then to other places.

    1987, Bhuban Mohan Das, The Peoples of Assam, page 168

Origin

  1. GermanAustroasiatisch
  2. EnglishAustroasiatic

Borrowed from German Austroasiatisch, austroasiatisch, coined by Wilhelm Schmidt, from Latin auster (“south”) + German asiatisch (“Asian”).

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 南亞語系 /南亚语系
  • 南亞語系 /南亚语系 (Nányàyǔxì)Translations
Danish austroasiatisk
  • austroasiatiskTranslations
Dutch Austroaziatisch
  • AustroaziatischTranslations
Finnish austroaasialainen
  • austroaasialainenTranslations
French austroasiatique
  • austroasiatiqueTranslations
German austroasiatisch
  • austroasiatischTranslations
Italian austroasiatico
  • austroasiaticoTranslations
Portuguese austro-asiático
  • austro-asiáticoTranslations
Russian австроазиатский
  • австроазиатский (avstroaziatskij)Translations
Swedish austroasiatisk
  • austroasiatiskTranslations
Vietnamese Nam Á
  • Nam ÁTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

Austroasiatic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Austroasiatic

MLA

“Austroasiatic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Austroasiatic. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Austroasiatic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Austroasiatic.

Source: Austroasiatic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.