occurring or existing prior to a colonial period or colonization of a given area or country; of or pertaining to this period
precolonial in American English
(ˌprikəˈlouniəl)
adjective
of or pertaining to the time before a region or country became a colony
Word origin
[1960–65; pre- + colonial]This word is first recorded in the period 1960–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bicycle kick, deinstitutionalize, go-go, pop art, tag questionpre- is a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “before”(preclude; prevent); applied freely as a prefix, with the meanings “prior to,” “in advance of,” “early,”“beforehand,” “before,” “in front of,” and with other figurative meanings (preschool; prewar; prepay: preoral; prefrontal)