East Indian
adjective, noun
Forms East Indians
- adjective Of or pertaining to the people, products, or culture of Southeast Asia, particularly the Malay Archipelago, Sri Lanka, or India.
- adjective (Canada, Caribbean) Of or pertaining to the people, products, or culture of India, or South Asia in general.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the people, products, or culture of East India, the eastern region of India.
- noun A native or inhabitant of the Malay Archipelago, Sri Lanka, or India.
Etymology
The senses whose referents include Southeast Asia are from East Ind(ies) + -ian. The sense specific to eastern India is from East Ind(ia) + -ian.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “East Indian”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details