East Indian
1
5.8
- noun
- Archaic
:
indio
- Includes Mennonites, East Indians, Chinese, Whites, others, those responding "don't know" or not stating.
- East Indians and Chinese
- East Indians think
- East Indians often
Examples
-
But he's East Indian.
-
My friend is an East Indian, and she shared delicious recipes from her culture.
-
The second looked like an East Indian.
Fiction book (1996) -
Why, only last year I was engaged to an East Indian.
-
Other groups, such as Chinese and East Indians, made up the remaining 14%.
Academic text (1998) -
The East Indians knew about printing technology even earlier than the Chinese did.
Academic text (2000) -
The majority (81%) identify as Black, with a significant minority identifying as East Indian.
Academic text (2012) -
The kids in her class—Greeks, East Indians, Russians, lower-middle class.
Fiction book (2000) -
East of California, Devon became heavily East Indian, with lots of sari shops, vegetarian groceries, jewelry emporia, and stores with appliances wired for India.
Fiction book (1998) -
In the festival, many East Indians showcased their traditional dances and music.
Synonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a native or inhabitant of the East Indies/Indian subcontinent' is directly compositional from 'East' (a geographic/directional modifier) + 'Indian' (pertaining to India). This geographic modifier + nationality pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows normal noun phrase composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
East Indian originally named a person from the 'East Indies', the phrase old European sailors and traders used for parts of South and Southeast Asia. That's why an East Indian today means 'a native or inhabitant of the East Indies'.