Meanings
- not comparableNative to the place where found; indigenous.
Only human beings could live on this world and know that they were not autochthonous but had stemmed from Earthmen—and yet did the Spacers really know it or did they simply put it out of their mind?
1983, Isaac Asimov, chapter 22, in The Robots of Dawn, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 1163 more examples
Two of the most celebrated of the evolutionists reject the autochthonous view, for Darwin's Descent of Man and Haeckel's Hist. of Creation consider the American man an emigrant from the old world, whatever way the race may have developed
1889, Justin Winsor, Narrative and Critical History of America, volume I, page 375"Forms or images of a collective nature which occur practically all over the earth as constituents of myths and at the same time as autochthonous, individual products of unconscious origin" (C. G. Jung, Psychology and Religion [Collected Works, vol. 11; New York and London, 1958], par. 88.)
1968, Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2nd edition, London: Fontana Press, published 1993, page 16It analyzes exceptionalism in terms of institutional authority, adjudicative method, and substantive doctrine, and it shows how exceptionalism derives from the idea of autochthonous Native sovereignty.
2024 September 30, Michael Doran, “EXCEPTIONALISM AND ASSIMILATIONISM IN FEDERAL INDIAN LAW”, in Stanford Law School, volume 20, number 2, page 270, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2025Synonyms: aboriginal, autochthonic, indigenous, native
- not comparablebiologyOriginating where found; found where it originates.
When, in 1858, Joseph Lister amputated the right leg of a six-year-old girl suffering from gangrene, he noted that the autochthonous blood clot extended down the anterior tibial artery as far as the commencement of the gangrene.
1983, Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey, volume 80, page 538 - not comparablegeographyBuried in place, especially of a fossil preserved in its life position without disturbance or disarticulation.
Death and burial may be simultaneous, resulting in a preserved snapshot of an autochthonous assemblage that may be compared directly with present day ecosystems.
1992, Anna K. Behrensmeyer et al., Terrestrial Ecosystems Through Time, page 83
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNative to the place where found; indigenous.
antonym(s) of “native to the place where found, buried in place”
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveof rocks, deposits, etc.; found where they and their constituents were formed
adjectiveoriginating where it is found
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Literally, “native to the soil”; from autochthon + -ous.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian автохто́нен, автохто́нен
- автохто́нен (avtohtónen)native to the place where found
- автохто́нен (avtohtónen)biology, medicine: originating where found
- автохто́нен (avtohtónen)geology: formed or buried where found
Catalan autòcton
- autòctonnative to the place where found
Chinese Mandarin 土生的, 本土的
- 土生的 (tǔshēng de)native to the place where found
- 本土的 (běntǔ de)native to the place where found
- 原位的 (yuánwèi de)biology, medicine: originating where found
- 原地埋藏的 (yuándì máicáng de)geology: formed or buried where found
Czech autochtonní
- autochtonnínative to the place where found
Dutch autochtoon
- autochtoonnative to the place where found
Esperanto indiĝena, aŭtoĥtona
- indiĝenanative to the place where found
- aŭtoĥtonanative to the place where found
- aŭtoktonanative to the place where found
Finnish kotoperäinen, autoktoninen
- kotoperäinennative to the place where found
- autoktoninennative to the place where found
- autoktoninenbiology, medicine: originating where found
- autoktoninengeology: formed or buried where found
French autochtone
- autochtonenative to the place where found
German autochthon
- autochthonnative to the place where found
Greek αυτόχθονας
- αυτόχθονας (aftóchthonas)native to the place where found
Irish uatheascarthach, uatheascarthach
- uatheascarthachnative to the place where found
- uatheascarthachbiology, medicine: originating where found
- díleasachgeology: formed or buried where found
Italian autoctono
- autoctononative to the place where found
Polish autochtoniczny, autochtoński
- autochtonicznynative to the place where found
- autochtońskinative to the place where found
- autochtonicznybiology, medicine: originating where found
- autochtonicznygeology: formed or buried where found
Portuguese autóctone, autóctone
- autóctonenative to the place where found
- autóctonebiology, medicine: originating where found
- autóctonegeology: formed or buried where found
Romanian autohton
- autohtonnative to the place where found
Russian коренно́й, автохто́нный
- коренно́й (korennój)native to the place where found
- автохто́нный (avtoxtónnyj)native to the place where found
- аутохто́нный (autoxtónnyj)native to the place where found
- ме́стный (méstnyj)native to the place where found
- автохто́нный (avtoxtónnyj)biology, medicine: originating where found
- автохто́нный (avtoxtónnyj)geology: formed or buried where found
Spanish autóctono
- autóctononative to the place where found
Swedish autokton, ursprunglig
- autoktonnative to the place where found
- ursprunglignative to the place where found
- inföddnative to the place where found
Turkish asil yerli
- asil yerlinative to the place where found
Ukrainian автохто́нний
- автохто́нний (avtoxtónnyj)native to the place where found
Cite this entry
autochthonous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autochthonous
“autochthonous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autochthonous. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autochthonous,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autochthonous.
Source: autochthonous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.