Asian
Part of speech: noun
adj
Morphological type: derivation
Etymology: From Latin āsiānus. By surface analysis, Asia + -an.
The modern North American and Australasian usage, referring to East and Southeast Asians collectively, seems to be a shortened form of "Asian American", a term whose origins activists and academics trace back to 1968 and University of California, Berkeley (UCLA) students Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee, who, inspired by the Black Power Movement and the protests against the Vietnam War, founded the "Asian American Political Alliance" as a way to unite Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino American students on campus. It replaced the term "Mongoloid", but still continued the racial grouping of "Mongoloid".
The usage in Britain and some of its former colonies such as South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, stems from South Asians historically forming the bulk of immigrants from the continent of Asia to these places.
In the rest of the Anglosphere, the word "Asian" is sometimes, albeit less frequently, used to refer to South Asians and Central Asians, but rarely (if ever) to Near Easterners.
Inflected forms:
form: Asians
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: A person from the continent of Asia, or a descendant thereof - especially:
pos: noun
tags: Australia
Canada
New-Zealand
US
examples: Hate crimes and attacks on Asians have captured the local news and the national attention since 2020, producing a stream of content that showed innocent people being attacked and belittled in never-ending variations on the same violent theme.
gloss: A person from the continent of Asia, or a descendant thereof - especially:
pos: noun
tags: Kenya
South-Africa
UK
Uganda
examples: We call upon you to be ready to take over from the non-citizens who are leaving the country. As you are aware, I, on Wednesday the 9th August, 1972, signed a Decree revoking with effect from that date, all entry permits and certificates of residence which had been granted to British citizens of Asian origin and the nationals of India, Pakistan and Bangla Desh. They were, however, permitted to stay in Uganda for a period of 90 days from that day [...]
It is not true that Asians were inadaptable in East Africa. Nearly all Indian men learned to speak English, and, by the second generation, both sexes had become fluently Anglophone, while continuing to use their native tongue (mostly Gujarati, Cutchi, Punjabi or Hindustani). Most Indians also learned the upland Swahili pidgin which is the trade language of East Africa; while few spoke the “correct” coastal Swahili, their fluency in “kitchen Swahili” was often superior to that of the Europeans. The more rural Indian shopkeepers did indeed become somewhat Africanized, while the urban Indian became more Anglicized.
If radio and television programmes are anything to go by, Asians in Britain get up early on a Sunday.
Were there Taliban beheading people? I didn't tell my parents, but I flinched if an Asian-looking man came close.
gloss: A domestic cat of a breed similar to the Burmese.
pos: noun
gloss: Of, relating to or from Asia.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: There are white, black, Asian and Chinese Britons
And some Asian countries are tightening their immigration laws. Japan reinforced its strict stance in January when a court upheld the country’s ban against dual citizenship, rejecting a lawsuit filed by Japanese citizens living in Europe.
Synonyms: Oriental
Asiatic
South Asian
Desi
Asian Indian
East Indian
Indian
Pakistani
Translations:
lang: Afrikaans
word: Asiaat
lang: Arabic
word: آسِيَوِيّ
roman: ʔāsiyawiyy
lang: Arabic
word: آسِيَوِيَّة
roman: ʔāsiyawiyya
lang: Armenian
word: ասիացի
roman: asiacʻi
lang: Azerbaijani
word: asiyalı
lang: Belarusian
word: азія́т
roman: aziját
lang: Belarusian
word: азія́тка
roman: azijátka
lang: Central Bikol
word: Asyano
lang: Breton
word: Aziad
lang: Breton
word: Aziadez
lang: Bulgarian
word: азиа́тец
roman: aziátec
lang: Bulgarian
word: азиа́тка
roman: aziátka
lang: Burmese
word: အာရှတိုက်သူ
roman: ahra.tuiksu
lang: Catalan
word: asiàtic
lang: Catalan
word: asiàtica
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 亞洲人 /亚洲人
roman: yàzhōurén
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 亞裔 /亚裔
roman: yàyì
lang: Czech
word: Asijec
lang: Czech
word: Asijka
lang: Danish
word: asiat
lang: Dutch
word: Aziaat
lang: Dutch
word: Aziatische
lang: Esperanto
word: aziano
lang: Estonian
word: aasialane
lang: Finnish
word: aasialainen
lang: French
word: Asiatique
lang: Galician
word: asiático
lang: Galician
word: asiática
lang: Georgian
word: აზიელი
roman: azieli
lang: German
word: Asiate
lang: German
word: Asiat
lang: German
word: Asiatin
lang: Greek
word: Ασιάτης
roman: Asiátis
lang: Greek
word: Ασιάτισσα
roman: Asiátissa
lang: Hawaiian
word: ʻĀkia
lang: Hindi
word: एशियाई
roman: eśiyāī
lang: Hungarian
word: ázsiai
lang: Ingush
word: азхо
roman: azxo
lang: Inupiaq
word: Inupiaŋuaq
lang: Irish
word: Áiseach
lang: Italian
word: asiatico
lang: Italian
word: asiatica
lang: Japanese
word: アジア人
roman: ajiajin
lang: Kashubian
word: Azjata
lang: Kashubian
word: Azjatka
lang: Kazakh
word: азиялық
roman: aziälyq
lang: Korean
word: 동양인
roman: dong'yang'in
lang: Korean
word: 아시아인
roman: asiain
lang: Kyrgyz
word: азиялык
roman: aziyalık
lang: Lao
word: ຄົນອາຊີ
roman: khonʼā sī
lang: Latvian
word: aziāts
lang: Latvian
word: aziāte
lang: Lithuanian
word: azijietis
lang: Lithuanian
word: azijietė
lang: Macedonian
word: Азиец
roman: Aziec
lang: Macedonian
word: Азијка
roman: Azijka
lang: Marathi
word: आशियाई
roman: āśiyāī
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: asiat
lang: Dari
word: آسِیَایِی
roman: āsiyāyī
lang: Dari
word: آسِیَائِی
roman: āsiyā'ī
lang: Iranian Persian
word: آسِیایی
roman: âsiyâyi
lang: Iranian Persian
word: آسِیائی
roman: âsiyâ'i
lang: Polish
word: Azjata
lang: Polish
word: Azjatka
lang: Portuguese
word: asiático
lang: Portuguese
word: asiática
lang: Romanian
word: asiatic
lang: Romanian
word: asiatică
lang: Russian
word: азиа́т
roman: aziát
lang: Russian
word: азиа́тка
roman: aziátka
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: Ази́јац
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: А̑зӣјка
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: Azíjac
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: Ȃzījka
lang: Sicilian
word: siàticu
lang: Sicilian
word: siàtica
lang: Slovak
word: Ázijec
lang: Slovak
word: Ázijka
lang: Slovene
word: aziat
lang: Slovene
word: azijka
lang: Spanish
word: asiático
lang: Spanish
word: asiática
lang: Spanish
word: asiano (desus.)
lang: Swedish
word: asiat
lang: Tagalog
word: Asyano
lang: Tajik
word: осиёӣ
roman: osiyoyi
lang: Telugu
word: ఆసియను
roman: āsiyanu
lang: Thai
word: คนเอเชีย
roman: kon ee-chiia
lang: Turkish
word: Asyalı
lang: Ukrainian
word: азі́єць
roman: azíjecʹ
lang: Ukrainian
word: азі́йка
roman: azíjka
lang: Ukrainian
word: азіа́т
roman: aziát
lang: Ukrainian
word: азіа́тка
roman: aziátka
lang: Urdu
word: ایشِیائی
roman: eśiyāī
lang: Uzbek
word: osiyolik
lang: Vietnamese
word: người châu Á
lang: Vietnamese
word: người Á châu
lang: Volapük
word: Siyopan
lang: Afrikaans
word: Asiër
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 南亞裔 /南亚裔
roman: nányàyì
lang: Dutch
word: Aziaat
lang: Dutch
word: Azische
lang: Dutch
word: Indiër
lang: Dutch
word: Indische
lang: Finnish
word: intialainen
lang: French
word: asiatique
lang: Hindi
word: एशियाई
roman: eśiyāī
lang: Hungarian
word: ázsiai
lang: Hungarian
word: indiai
lang: Hungarian
word: dél-ázsiai
lang: Italian
word: asiatico
lang: Italian
word: asiatica
lang: Japanese
word: 南アジア人
roman: minami ajiajin
lang: Korean
word: 남아시아인
roman: namasiain
lang: Polish
word: Hindus
lang: Polish
word: Hinduska
lang: Portuguese
word: asiático
lang: Portuguese
word: asiática
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: Azíjac
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: Ȃzījka
lang: Sicilian
word: siàticu
lang: Sicilian
word: siàtica
lang: Swedish
word: indier