autochthon. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

autochthon

SYLLABICATION:	au·toch·thon
PRONUNCIATION:	ô-tkthn
NOUN:	Inflected forms: pl. au·toch·thons or au·toch·tho·nes (-th-nz) 1. One of the earliest known inhabitants of a place; an aborigine. 2. Ecology An indigenous plant or animal.
ETYMOLOGY:	Greek autokhthn : auto-, auto- + khthn, earth; see dhghem- in Appendix I.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.