meriam

Etymology

From Mer (“Murray Island”), off the northern coast of Australia.

name

  1. The Trans-Fly Papuan language of the Meriam people; Meryam Mir.

noun

  1. A member of an Aboriginal people who live on Mer (Murray Island), in the eastern group of Torres Strait Islands off the northern tip of Australia.“The Meriams believed in "Bomai", a shape-shifting sea spirit, who had come to them as an octopus and united the eight island tribes under his watchful eyes.”