Gilbertese
English edit
Etymology edit
Gilbert + -ese. See Gilbertese language § Name on Wikipedia.
Proper noun edit
Gilbertese
- An Austronesian language spoken in Kiribati.
Synonyms edit
Translations edit
language
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Noun edit
Gilbertese (plural Gilbertese)
- (chiefly in the plural) A person from the Gilbert Islands in Kiribati.
- Synonym: Kiribatian
- 1981, Roland W. Force, Brenda Bishop, Persistence and Exchange: Papers from a Symposium on Ecological Problems of the Traditional Societies of the Pacific Region : XIV Pacific Science Congress, Khabarovsk, U.S.S.R., August--September, 1979:
- If each Gilbertese passes on land to his or her children, not very many generations will pass before the land plots become relatively fragmented. This was and is the case. Many land plots are small, […]
Usage notes edit
As with other terms for people formed with -ese, the countable singular noun in reference to a person (as in "I am a Gilbertese", "writing about Gilbertese cuisine as a Gilbertese") is uncommon and often taken as incorrect. In its place, the adjective is used, by itself (as in "I am Gilbertese") or with a word like person, man, or woman ("writing about Gilbertese cuisine as a Gilbertese person").
Further reading edit
- Ethnologue entry for Gilbertese, gil
- “Gilbertese”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.