tribal
tribal — adjective
1. describing a community whose members share the same language, culture, and tradi
describing a community whose members share the same language, culture, and traditions, or relating to the customs and way of life of such a community
The tribal council voted to protect the sacred forest from mining.
Jin learned the tribal dances his grandmother had performed as a child.
collocation: tribal dances / tribal customs / tribal languages
Andrés donated money to help preserve the tribal languages of the Amazon.
Meera's grandfather was the oldest tribal elder in the village and settled disputes between families.
Nora wrote a book about the tribal customs of her mother's home village.
- ethnic
broader term — refers to any shared cultural identity, not just societies organized in tribes
- indigenous
emphasizes being the original inhabitants of a region rather than the internal structure of a tribal group
- ancestral
focuses on inheritance from earlier generations rather than social organization
用法筆記
Frequently placed before a noun (tribal leader, tribal land, tribal art). In modern media, a separate metaphorical use has emerged meaning 'showing strong loyalty to one group with hostility toward outsiders' — that use is considered informal and is not covered by this sense.
常見錯誤
tribal — noun
1. in India, a person who belongs to one of the indigenous communities that have li
in India, a person who belongs to one of the indigenous communities that have lived in the region since before the arrival of larger dominant populations
Arjun's family are tribals who have lived in Odisha for many generations.
plural countable noun: tribals
The new law gave tribals the right to collect forest products for their own use.
indirect object position: gave tribals the right
Lien taught English at a school built for the children of local tribals.
Many tribals in the Narmada valley voted for the first time in Gujarat's state elections.
Zola interviewed several tribals about the changes in their traditional way of life.
- Adivasi
the preferred self-identification used by many indigenous communities in India; more specific than 'tribal'
- indigenous person
broader term that works in any region, not limited to India
- Scheduled Tribe member
the official Indian government term for constitutionally recognized indigenous groups
用法筆記
This use of tribal as a countable noun is mainly found in Indian English and in writing about South Asian indigenous communities. Outside India, tribal is almost always an adjective — use tribe or indigenous person as the noun instead.