Word.ws English Dictionary

autochthon

Syllables: au·toch·thon/ɔːˈtɒkθ(ə)n/US/ɔˈtɑkθ(ə)n/

autochthon noun: the earliest inhabitant of an area; an indigenous person.

autochthon: the earliest inhabitant of an area; an indigenous person
Image: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/5c/d6/e9dca7, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

autochthon (plural autochthons or autochthones)

  1. (formal) The earliest inhabitant of an area; an indigenous person.
    • The Foreigner by his Intercourse with an Autocthon has an Autocthon Progeny. Wherever a type is found in the population of a country, there it is still found in spite of innumerable crossings; […]1901, “Jacobus X” [pseudonym], The Basis of Passional Psychology: A Study of the Laws of Love in Man and the Lower Animals, Paris: Charles Carrington, →OCLC, page 279
    • This fact points to the great sensitivity on the part of these refugees for the autochthon’s opinion and attitude concerning them. […] Diagram 7 which tells us something of the way in which the refugee experiences the relationship between himself and the autochthon, leaves no doubt of the refugees’...1966, J. Ex, Adjustment after Migration: A Longitudinal Study of the Process of Adjustment by Refugees to a New Environment (Publications of the Research Group for European Migration Problems; XIII)...
  2. A large mass of rock in the place of its original formation, rooted to its basement (foundation rock) as opposed to an allochthon or nappe which has shifted from the place of formation; an autochthonous rock formation.
    • These rocks are lithically identical with the Normanskill in the allochthon but differ from the correlative Hortonville or Walloomsac Slates […] of the autochthon. […] In the light of Warthin's findings and the absence of evidence to the contrary, the pelitic rocks that geometrically overlie the...1967, E-An Zen, “Introduction”, in Time and Space Relationships of the Taconic Allochthon and Autochthon (Special GSA Papers; no. 97), New York, N.Y.: Geological Society of America, →OCLC, page 6
    • The Mesozoic rock units in the Békés-Doboz trough appear to correlate to similar age rock units of the Bihor autochthon in the Apuseni Mountains of Romania rather than to rock units of the Codru nappe system. Rock units of the Bihor autochthon differ from rock units of the Codru nappe system in 3...1994, John A. Grow et al., “Structure of the Békés Basin Inferred from Seismic Reflection, Well and Gravity Data”, in Paul G. Teleki, Robert E. Mattick, János Kókai, editors, Basin Analysis in...
  3. A term referring to mortals and immortals who have sprung, fully-formed, from the soil, rocks and trees. Mythical characters, such as Erichthonius (a son of Hephaestus and Gaia, and raised by Athena), and Cecrops I, are two most well-known examples.

autochthon meaning in Tamil and Bengali

autochthon in Tamil

தன்னியக்கப் பாறையடுக்குகள், தொல் முதுகுடிமகன், மண்ணோடுபிறந்தவர்

autochthon in Bengali

কোনো অঞ্চলের প্রাচীনতম বাসিন্দা, স্বদেশজাত ব্যক্তি, আদিবাসী, মাটি

Examples of autochthon in a sentence

  • In fact, there is a socio-cultural barrier behind which the autochthon population seeks protection from the colorful clusters of foreigners around it.1987, Johan Leman, “The Italian and Sicilian Immigration in Belgium”, in From Challenging Culture to Challenged Culture: The Sicilian...
  • The autochthons’ defenders had sought to endow them with a special status in Poland, the better to buttress Poland’s claims to the Recovered Territories.2006, T. David Curp, “Counterrevolution from Above and Abroad: The Delocalization of Politics and the Beginning of Polish Stalinism's...
  • Rock units of the Bihor autochthon differ from rock units of the Codru nappe system in 3 main aspects: […]1994, John A. Grow et al., “Structure of the Békés Basin Inferred from Seismic Reflection, Well and Gravity Data”, in Paul G. Teleki...

Forms of autochthon

pluralautochthons
pluralautochthones
alternative form (obsolete)autocthon

Origin of autochthon

From Ancient Greek αὐτόχθων (autókhthōn, “indigenous”), from αὐτός (autós, “self”) + χθών (khthṓn, “earth, soil”).

Questions about autochthon

What does autochthon mean?
Autochthon means the earliest inhabitant of an area; an indigenous person.
What is autochthon in Tamil?
Autochthon in Tamil is தன்னியக்கப் பாறையடுக்குகள், தொல் முதுகுடிமகன், மண்ணோடுபிறந்தவர். See Autochthon meaning in Tamil.
How do you use autochthon in a sentence?
In fact, there is a socio-cultural barrier behind which the autochthon population seeks protection from the colorful clusters of foreigners around it.
What part of speech is autochthon?
Autochthon is a noun.
How do you pronounce autochthon?
Autochthon is pronounced /ɔːˈtɒkθ(ə)n/ (UK).
What is the plural of autochthon?
The plural of autochthon is autochthons.

Words near autochthon in the dictionary

  1. autochromosome
  2. autochromosomes
  3. autochromy
  4. autochronograph
  5. autochronographs
  6. autochthon
  7. autochthonal
  8. autochthone
  9. autochthoneity
  10. autochthones
  11. autochthonic

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: autochthon (page history and authors); autochthon (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); autochthon (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-autochthon.oga.

Cite this entry: “autochthon.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/autochthon. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.