australoid
|aus-tra-loid|
🇺🇸
/ˈɔːstrəˌlɔɪd/
🇬🇧
/ˈɒstrəˌlɔɪd/
southern-type (outdated racial category)
Etymology
'australoid' originates from New Latin/coinage combining 'Austral-' from Latin 'australis' meaning 'southern' and the suffix '-oid' from Greek '-oeidēs' meaning 'resembling'.
'australoid' was coined in anthropological literature in the late 19th century by combining the prefix 'Austral-' (referring to southern lands, especially Australia) with the suffix '-oid' to mean 'resembling or of the type of'. The term was used alongside classifications like 'Caucasoid' and 'Mongoloid' in racial typologies of that era.
Initially, it denoted people thought to belong to a distinct 'southern' racial type; over time the term's scientific validity was rejected and it came to be viewed as an outdated and potentially offensive racial label.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a member of a historically proposed racial grouping ('Australoid') used in 19th–20th century anthropology to categorize Indigenous peoples of Australia, parts of Southeast Asia and Melanesia; term is now considered outdated and potentially offensive.
Early anthropologists classified some Indigenous Australian groups as australoid.
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Antonyms
Adjective 1
relating to or characteristic of the Australoid grouping (in historical racial classifications); often used in phrases like 'Australoid features' — usage is now discouraged.
19th-century texts sometimes describe 'australoid features' in comparative anatomy.
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Last updated: 2025/11/22 06:44