English

Etymology

‘indigenous’, from + ‘earth, soil’.

Pronunciation

• /ɔːˈtɒkθən/

Noun

1. The earliest inhabitant of an area, an aboriginal.
2. An autochthonous rock formation.

Autochthon (and variants thereof) may refer to:

• The original inhabitants (indigenous peoples) of a place (auto + chthon (earth))
  • Autochthonous language, the language of an indigenous people
  • Autochthonous church, the indigenous church of a people
• The indigenous flora and fauna of a region; see native species
• A sediment or rock that can be found at its site of formation or deposition, as opposed to an allochthon, which has moved from that site
• Autochthons are the natural inhabitants on a refuge of the CY30-CY30B star system in the novel The Divine Invasion by Philip K. Dick. They worship the deity Yah who has been banished from Earth and must then invade several characters in the story in order to return to Earth again.
• Autochtoon, a term in Dutch: a native-born citizen of the Netherlands or Flanders whose parents were also native-born, as opposed to an allochtoon, whose parents were not native-born.
• Autochthon (Exalted), a Primordial deity in White Wolf's role playing game Exalted.
• Autochthon Wurm, a card from Wizard of the Coast's Magic: the Gathering Trading Card Game.
• Autochton (butterfly), a genus of skipper butterflies

Autochthonous is the adjective and autochthon is the noun. From auto + the Greek chthon, the earth, soil = sprung from the earth or the soil itself.

See also: Chthon