The original or earliest inhabitants of a region or place, especially used historically to refer to indigenous peoples.
From Latin 'aborigines' (original inhabitants), possibly from 'ab' (from) and 'origine' (origin). The term has been used since Roman times but carries colonial baggage today.
Modern scholars avoid the term 'aborigines' as a general label because it was invented by European colonizers and doesn't reflect how Indigenous peoples actually identified themselves—it's often considered outdated and potentially offensive now.
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