American Indian Definition

noun
A member of any of the peoples indigenous to the Americas except the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Inuits.
American Heritage
A member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, esp. of North America south of the Arctic; Amerindian.
Webster's New World

A member of some indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially the United States, but excluding the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleuts.

Wiktionary
(Canada) An indigenous person from the United States.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
  • indian
  • American-Indian language
  • Amerindian language
  • amerind
adjective
Relating to the indigenous peoples of the Americas or their languages.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of American Indian

Noun

Singular:
American Indian
Plural:
american-indians

Origin of American Indian

  • American + Indian. The noun is attested since 1702, the adjective since shortly thereafter.

    From Wiktionary

American Indian Sentence Examples

  • The taking of the lands of the American Indian was a travesty of history.

  • The domestic dogs of some North American Indian tribes closely resemble the coyote; the black wolfdog of Florida resembles the black wolf of the same region; the sheepdogs of Europe and Asia resemble the wolves of those countries, whilst the pariah dog of India is closely similar to the Indian wolf.

  • The readiness with which the American Indian succumbed to disease is well known.

  • He is best known for his plastic representations of the North American Indian - especially for "The Signal of Peace" in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and "The Medicine Man," in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.

  • The Association for American Indian Development (AAID) have a slightly different opinion, however.

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