What is an “Aboriginal”?
Indigenous Australians are of the Australian continent and its nearby islands and their descendants.[2] Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.6% of Australia’s population. There is great diversity between different Indigenous communities and societies in Australia, each with its own unique mixture of cultures, customs and languages. In present day Australia these groups are further divided into local communities.[4] The word Aboriginal has been in use in English since at least the 17th century to mean “first or earliest known, indigenous,” (Latin Aborigines, from ab: from, and origo: origin, beginning),[9] Strictly speaking, “Aborigine” is the noun and “Aboriginal” the adjectival form; however the latter is often also employed to stand as a noun. More info: http://en.wikipedia.
