Autoctonous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Originating naturally in a specific geographic location without being introduced from elsewhere
2. Existing or produced in the place where found, not brought from another region
3. Being indigenous to an area, having developed or arisen locally rather than introduced

Etymology: The word here is a misspelling: the correct form is "autochthonous", and the spelling with a single "o" is an easy slip because the "ch" is silent in the sense that matters for pronunciation. Behind it lies the Greek "autochthōn", built from "autos" meaning "self" and "chthōn" meaning "earth" or "soil", so the literal sense is "sprung from the land itself." Greek writers used the idea to describe peoples who claimed they had never migrated but had always lived on the ground where they stood. The English adjective is formed by adding the suffix "-ous" to "autochthon", giving a sense of "of, or characterised by, being native to a place." Its earliest English uses are tied to that original image of soil-born origin, and the modern meaning, for plants, animals and peoples found in their home region rather than introduced from elsewhere, follows directly from it.

Synonyms: indigenous, native

Antonyms: foreign, alien