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Glite Dictionary
🌴 From Melanesia 🧑 A person from Melanesia
Melanesian

Melanesian

1 7.5
A person who comes from Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛləˈniːʒən/
: melanésico
  • Hearing "aloha" from a Melanesian is about as likely as hearing "shalom" from a cowboy.

Examples

  • Is this little girl, apparently a Melanesian wearing a New Guinea bilum, saying "aloha"?

    Academic text (1995)

  • The little girl, being a Melanesian, would not be smiling in "the classic welcoming 'aloha' way."

    Academic text (1995)

  • Vanatinai has both big men and big women, known by the gender-blind term giagia, or givers, who closely fit Sahlins's (1963) classic description of the Melanesian.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The Melanesian artist presented traditional dance during the festival.

  • Many Melanesian communities maintain their unique cultural practices.

  • The documentary highlighted the everyday lives of Melanesian families.

Surface Forms

Melanesian singular
Melanesians plural

Morphology

Melanesian = Melanesia (transparent) = Melanesia + ian

Standard formation of a demonym/noun from the place name 'Melanesia' using '-ian', so the relation is directly inferable for learners who know the place name.

Etymology

Melanesian comes from the Greek roots melas and nesos, meaning 'black' and 'island'. So a Melanesian is a person who comes from Melanesia, the region of Pacific islands whose name points to the darker skin of many of its inhabitants.