autochthon

[ aw-tok-thuh n ]

/ ɔˈtɒk θən /

an aboriginal inhabitant.

Ecology. one of the indigenous animals or plants of a region.

Geology. a geological formation formed in the region where found.

Compare allochthon.

Origin of autochthon

1640–50; < Greek autóchthōn of the land itself, equivalent to auto- auto-¹ + chthṓn the earth, land, ground

Autochthon, aw-tok′thon, n. one of the primitive inhabitants of a country: an aboriginal:—pl.

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) |Various
Tchekoff is a true product of Russian literature, an autochthon plant, nourished by his natal sap.

Contemporary Russian Novelists |Serge Persky
To the third pair of twins he gave the name Mneseus to the elder, and Autochthon to the one who followed him.

The Wonder Book of Volcanoes and Earthquakes |Edwin J. Houston
To the elder of the third pair of twins he gave the name Mneseus, and Autochthon to the one who followed him.

Critias |Plato

He is earth-born, autochthon, and holds possession by descent.

The Eulogy of Richard Jefferies |Walter Besant

autochthon

/ (ɔːˈtɒkθən, -θɒn) /

(often plural) one of the earliest known inhabitants of any country; aboriginal

an animal or plant that is native to a particular region

C17: from Greek autokhthōn from the earth itself, from auto- + khthōn the earth