Why are the terms 'Aborigine' and 'Aboriginal' used to refer to indigenous Australians who were obviously original because they were here first even though the prefix 'ab' can mean the opposite e.g. 'abnormal'?

mk2norwich

My dictionary tells me that the word is derived from the Latin phrase ab origine, meaning 'from the original'. Nov 27 02, 6:38 PM

Senior Moments

Senior Moments says: An aborigine is someone who belongs to a tribe or race that was the earliest known to inhabit a certain area. Those most often thought of as aborigines are Australians, but there are also American, African, and Japanese aborigines, and many others all around the world. This word's origin involved 'folk etymology,' in which a word evolves to match an incorrect understanding of its origin. In this case, there was a tribe that inhabited some areas of Italy before the Roman civilization appeared. The tribe's name sounded similar to a Latin phrase, 'ab origines' (from the beginning.) Since the tribe had been there 'from the beginning,' or at least since before the Romans arrived, they became known by the Romans as the Aborigine. Today, aborigines in general are any people who have been present in an area since prehistoric times. http://www.getty.edu/artsednet/hm/Feb00/0328.html Wed Nov 27 09:51:28 CST 2002 (Delete Entry) (Moved from #24632 - Duplicate question - McG) Dec 16 02, 7:49 AM

Kainantu

Kainantu says: When talking about the true owners of this continent of OZ most people say Aborigines(plural) not Aboriginals(as a plural) We rarely say: Is he an Aborigine (by doing so this can infer a primitiveness ) One usually asks: Is he Aboriginal? or Is he an Aboriginal? Aboriginal is also used as an adjective, such as in the phrase, an Aboriginal artifact. Generally one {says;} Aborigines were a...(resourceful race) The word must begin with a capital letter. An Aboriginal prefers to be called a Kouri or as a group, Kouris. Mon Dec 02 05:57:58 CST 2002 (Delete Entry) (Moved from #24632 - Duplicate question - McG) Dec 16 02, 7:51 AM