ˈīˌnü sometimes -ˌnyü noun
also ai·no -ˌnō
( plural ainu also ainus or ainos )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Ainu, literally, man
1.
a. : an indigenous Caucasoid people of Japan formerly occupying all or most of the archipelago but now confined to part of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and parts of the Kurile islands
b. : a member of such people
2. : the language of the Ainu people