Austronesian

A1U1S1T1R1O1N1E1S1I1A1N1
/ˌɔːs.tɹoʊˈniː.ʒən/

adjective

Pertaining to the Austronesian language family.

“an Austronesian language”

Similar
Austronesian language
UncommonScrabble 12

Meanings

adjectiveAustronesian (comparative more Austronesian, superlative most Austronesian)

comparative more Austronesian · superlative most Austronesian

  1. Pertaining to the Austronesian language family.

    an Austronesian language

  2. Of or pertaining to Austronesia.
    1 more example

    Taitung County, with seven Indigenous peoples of Austronesian descent -- Amis, Paiwan, Bunun, Rukai, Pinuyumayan (also known as the Puyuma), Yami (also known as the Tao), and Kavalan -- is the most diverse region in Taiwan in terms of Austronesian culture, offering students a chance to apply their research to real-world scenarios and engage in intimate observations of how indigenous groups grapple with the challenges of modern times, Chen said.

    2022 August 6, Tyson Lu, Sean Lin, “Taitung university launches doctoral program on Austronesian studies”, in Focus Taiwan, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2022, Culture
nounAustronesian (plural Austronesians)

plural Austronesians

  1. A speaker of an Austronesian language, especially a member of the ancient maritime culture that spread Austronesian languages across the Pacific from Taiwan.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia

Similar
Austronesian language

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. GermanAustronesisch
  2. EnglishAustronesian

Borrowed from German Austronesisch; coined by Wilhelm Schmidt. From Latin austro- (“southern”) + Ancient Greek νῆσος (nêsos, “island”) + -ian.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan austronèsic
  • austronèsicof or pertaining to Austronesia
Chinese 南島 /南岛
  • 南島 /南岛 (Nándǎo)of or pertaining to Austronesia
Czech austronéský
  • austronéskýof or pertaining to Austronesia
Danish austronesisk
  • austronesiskof or pertaining to Austronesia
Dutch Austronesisch
  • Austronesischof or pertaining to Austronesia
Esperanto aŭstronezia
  • aŭstroneziaof or pertaining to Austronesia
Finnish austronesialainen
  • austronesialainenof or pertaining to Austronesia
German austronesisch
  • austronesischof or pertaining to Austronesia
Irish Astrainéiseach
  • Astrainéiseachof or pertaining to Austronesia
Malay Austronesia
  • Austronesiaof or pertaining to Austronesia
Norwegian Bokmål austronesisk
  • austronesiskof or pertaining to Austronesia
Portuguese austronésio
  • austronésioof or pertaining to Austronesia
Russian а̀встронези́йский
  • а̀встронези́йский (àvstronezíjskij)of or pertaining to Austronesia
Slovak austronézsky
  • austronézskyof or pertaining to Austronesia
Spanish austronesio
  • austronesioof or pertaining to Austronesia
Tagalog Austronesian
  • Austronesianof or pertaining to Austronesia
Welsh Awstronesaidd
  • Awstronesaiddof or pertaining to Austronesia
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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