East Indian

adjective

Of or pertaining to the people, products, or culture of Southeast Asia, particularly the Malay Archipelago, Sri Lanka, or India.

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Meanings

adjectiveEast Indian (comparative more East Indian, superlative most East Indian)

comparative more East Indian · superlative most East Indian

  1. Of or pertaining to the people, products, or culture of Southeast Asia, particularly the Malay Archipelago, Sri Lanka, or India.
  2. CanadaCaribbeanOf or pertaining to the people, products, or culture of India, or South Asia in general.
  3. Of or pertaining to the people, products, or culture of East India, the eastern region of India.
nounEast Indian (plural East Indians)

plural East Indians

  1. A native or inhabitant of the Malay Archipelago, Sri Lanka, or India.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
asianindian

Origin

The senses whose referents include Southeast Asia are from East Ind(ies) + -ian. The sense specific to eastern India is from East Ind(ia) + -ian.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

East Indian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/East%20Indian

MLA

“East Indian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/East%20Indian. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “East Indian,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/East%20Indian.

Source: East Indian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.