Definition of: Austronesian

(ôs′trō·nē′zhən, -shən) adjective
Of or pertaining to Austronesia, its inhabitants, or their languages.
—noun A family of languages spoken throughout the Pacific in an area roughly bounded by Madagascar to the west, Easter Island to the east, Formosa to the north, and New Zealand to the south, but excluding Australia, Tasmania, and a large part of New Guinea. The Austronesian family is divided linguistically into three subfamilies: Indonesian or Malayan, Oceanic (including the Melanesian and Micronesian languages), and Polynesian. Also Malayo-Polynesian.