Arawakian

/ˌɑːrəˈweɪkiən/ adjective

Definition

An alternative spelling of Arawakan, meaning of or relating to the Arawak people or language.

Etymology

A variant formation of Arawakan using the suffix -ian instead of -an. Both suffixes (-an and -ian) are productive in English for creating adjectives from ethnic and linguistic names, with -ian being slightly more common.

Kelly Says

English gives us multiple acceptable ways to say the same thing—'Arawakan' and 'Arawakian' both work because English is flexible and historically has borrowed many competing suffix patterns from Latin, French, and German.

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