Papuan

UK: /ˈpæpjʊən/ US: (pap′yo̅o̅ ən)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Pap•u•an  (pap′yo̅o̅ ən), adj. 

1. Language Varieties of or pertaining to New Guinea or to Papua New Guinea.
2. Language Varieties, Physical Anthropology noting or pertaining to the indigenous black peoples of New Guinea, characterized by a black or dark brown complexion and crisp, frizzled hair.
3. Language Varieties of or pertaining to any of the unaffiliated languages indigenous to New Guinea and other islands nearby, esp. Timor, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Moluccas, and the Solomons.

n. 

4. Language Varieties a native or inhabitant of New Guinea or Papua New Guinea.
5. Language Varieties any of the Papuan languages.

• Papu(a) + -an 1805–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Papuan / ˈpæpjʊən/ adjective

1. of or relating to Papua or any of the languages spoken there

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Papua New Guinea
2. any of several languages of Papua New Guinea that apparently do not belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family