Arawakan
|A-ra-wa-kan|
/ˌærəˈwækən/
of or relating to the Arawak people or their languages
Etymology
'Arawakan' ultimately derives from the ethnonym 'Arawak' recorded by early Spanish and Portuguese explorers; the name was taken from indigenous Caribbean languages (often cited as Taíno or related languages) and was adopted into European languages.
'Arawak' was recorded in Spanish/Portuguese forms such as 'Arauac' by 16th-century writers; English later adopted the form 'Arawak', and the adjective/noun form 'Arawakan' was formed in English by adding the suffix '-an' to indicate relation or belonging (i.e., 'of or relating to Arawak').
Initially it referred specifically to the Arawak peoples encountered by Europeans; over time it broadened to refer to the wider family of related languages and, by extension, cultural/linguistic features associated with that family.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a language of the Arawakan family; or (less commonly) a member of an Arawak-speaking people.
Garifuna is an Arawakan language with influences from other language groups.
Synonyms
Adjective 1
relating to the Arawak peoples or to the group of languages spoken by those peoples (the Arawakan language family).
Arawakan languages are spoken across parts of South America and the Caribbean.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/03 07:40