# Asiatic

/ˌeɪʒiˈætɪk/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/asiatic
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. relating to Asia

adjective · CEFR C1 · Archaic · Formal

an old-fashioned way to describe things or people from the continent of Asia.

For teachers: relating to or characteristic of Asia or its inhabitants. Now largely replaced by 'Asian' in modern standard English.

- The museum has a large collection of Asiatic plants from the nineteenth century.
- Early twentieth-century explorers often documented the Asiatic species they encountered with meticulous detail, though their terminology is now considered dated.

Usage: Usually placed before the noun it modifies.

### 3. a person from Asia

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Formal

an old word for a person from Asia that is now often considered offensive.

For teachers: a person of Asian descent. This term is now widely regarded as offensive or at least highly dated in most English-speaking regions.

- The old documents listed the travelers as Asiatics.
- The census records from the 1800s categorized all immigrants from the continent under the broad label of Asiatics.

Teaching tip: Learners should avoid using this as a noun to refer to people, as 'Asian' is the standard and respectful modern term.

## Examples

- The museum has a large collection of Asiatic art.
- Botanists often use the term to classify plant species like the Asiatic lily that are native to eastern regions.
- The researcher noted that while the term remains standard in zoological nomenclature for species like the Asiatic elephant, its application to human populations has largely been supplanted by more specific ethnonyms.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.