Melanesian

M3E1L1A1N1E1S1I1A1N1

adjective

Of or relating to Melanesia.

OriginEnglish Melanesia ← French Mélanésie ← Ancient Greek νῆσος (nêsos) →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

adjectiveMelanesian (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf or relating to Melanesia.

    While Melanesian cannibals make "long pig," barbecuing enemies, legal and political cannibals in San Francisco put a beautiful wealthy woman, Penny Penny Hill, on trial for murder […]

    2002, William C. Miller, Long Pig
nounMelanesian (plural Melanesians)

plural Melanesians

  1. A Melanesian person.
    1 more example

    Blackbirding was the euphemism given to the slave-trading that occurred in the Pacific from the mid-1800s through to the early-1900s. According to one study, blackbirding, [as] “the practice of luring Melanesians and Polynesians to toil for next to nothing was called”, involved upwards of 60,000 people between 1863 and 1904 (Horne, 2007, p. 2).

    2008, Andrew David Grainger, The Browning of the All Blacks: Pacific Peoples, Rugby, and the Cultural Politics of Identity in New Zealand, page 326

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
melanesid

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*melh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*mélh₂ns
  3. Proto-Hellenic*mélans
  4. Ancient Greekμέλας (mélas)
  5. Ancient Greekνῆσος (nêsos)
  6. FrenchMélanésie
  7. EnglishMelanesia
  8. EnglishMelanesian

From Melanesia + -an.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan melanesi, melanesi
  • melanesireferring to Melanesia
  • melanesiperson living in or coming from Melanesia
  • melanèsiaperson living in or coming from Melanesia
Esperanto melaneziano, melanezianino
  • melanezianoperson living in or coming from Melanesia
  • melanezianinoperson living in or coming from Melanesia
Finnish melanesialainen, melanesialainen
  • melanesialainenreferring to Melanesia
  • melanesialainenperson living in or coming from Melanesia
French mélanésien, Mélanésien
  • mélanésienreferring to Melanesia
  • Mélanésienperson living in or coming from Melanesia
  • Mélanésienneperson living in or coming from Melanesia
German Melanesier, Melanesierin
  • Melanesierperson living in or coming from Melanesia
  • Melanesierinperson living in or coming from Melanesia
Irish Meilinéiseach, Meilinéiseach
  • Meilinéiseachreferring to Melanesia
  • Meilinéiseachperson living in or coming from Melanesia
Italian melanesiano, melanesiano
  • melanesianoreferring to Melanesia
  • melanesianoperson living in or coming from Melanesia
  • melanesianaperson living in or coming from Melanesia
Norwegian Bokmål melanesisk
  • melanesiskreferring to Melanesia
Polish melanezyjski, Melanezyjczyk
  • melanezyjskireferring to Melanesia
  • Melanezyjczykperson living in or coming from Melanesia
  • Melanezyjkaperson living in or coming from Melanesia
Portuguese melanésio
  • melanésioreferring to Melanesia
Russian меланези́йский, меланези́ец
  • меланези́йский (melanɛzíjskij)referring to Melanesia
  • меланези́ец (melanɛzíjec)person living in or coming from Melanesia
  • меланези́йка (melanɛzíjka)person living in or coming from Melanesia
Spanish melanesio
  • melanesioreferring to Melanesia
Swedish melanesisk
  • melanesiskreferring to Melanesia
Tagalog Timpuluanin, Timpuluanin
  • Timpuluaninreferring to Melanesia
  • Timpuluaninperson living in or coming from Melanesia
Cite this entry
APA

Melanesian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Melanesian

MLA

“Melanesian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Melanesian. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Melanesian,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Melanesian.

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