Aryan

 
Pronunciation: /ˈɛːrɪən/

adjective

  • relating to or denoting a people speaking an Indo-European language who invaded northern India in the 2nd millennium bc, displacing the Dravidian and other aboriginal peoples.
  • old-fashioned term for Proto-Indo-European or Indo-Iranian.
  • (in Nazi ideology) relating to or denoting people of Caucasian race not of Jewish descent.
  • The idea that there was an ‘Aryan’ race corresponding to the parent Indo-European language was proposed by certain 19th-century writers, and was taken up by Hitler and other proponents of racist ideology, but it has been generally rejected by scholars

noun

  • a member of the ancient Aryan people: the Aryans brought Hindu religious thought to India
  • [mass noun] the language of the Aryan people.
  • (in Nazi ideology) a person of Caucasian race not of Jewish descent: he looked the image of the ideal Aryan: tall, with Nordic blonde hair

Origin:

from Sanskrit ārya 'noble' + -an