Appendix:English terms of Native North American origin
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An offshoot of Appendix:English terms of Native American origin, this list includes common nouns which originated from Native American language families spoken to the north of the Panama Canal. Terms from language families spoken on both sides of the Canal, or in the Caribbean, are listed separately; terms from Eskimo-Aleut languages are also listed separately. See here for a list of place names, personal names and tribe names derived from these languages. (If a common noun is also the name of a tribe, place or person (e.g. "Mohawk"), this is noted in this list only in the etymology.)
specific language and family unclear
[edit]- appaloosa — "(breed of) horse having a spotted rump" — after the Palouse river, named for the Palouse region, which is either a French or a Sahaptin name (not related to "appaloosa" meaning "catfish")
- assapan — "flying squirrel" — "from one of the south-eastern" Native American languages
- pasheco (also: pashequa, pashequaw) — "camas bulb or root", "soft, dark cake made of baked camas and the lichen rockhair" (rockhair = Alectoria jubata var. fremontii, i.e. Bryoria fremontii, see w:Wila (lichen)) for info on geographic distribution of First Nations use; camas = probably Camassia quamash, but possibly other Camassia, see Camassia at USDA Plants database for geographic distribution, see especially the "subordinate taxa" tab) — ???
- quinnat (or: quinnet) — "Chinook salmon of the genus Oncorhynchus (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)" — ??? (perhaps Chinook?)
- tabasco — "particular variety of chili pepper having a conical shape and a bitter and burning taste", "spicy pepper sauce made from tabasco pepper" — (from the name of the Mexican state "Tabasco",) from either a Mayan term meaning "our lord of eight lions", or a Nahuatl term meaning "damp earth"
- wankapin (rare) — "water chinkapin" — ??? (related to "yoncopin")
- wishtonwish — "prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus)" — from a Native American onomatopoeic representation of their cry
- yoncopin (uncommon) (also: yonkapin (uncommon), yankapin (rare)) — "water chinkapin" — ??? (perhaps an alteration of "woncopin", a variant of "wankapin"; related to the latter in any case)
from Algic languages
[edit]from Algonquian languages
[edit]specific language unclear
[edit]- apishamore — "saddle blanket" — from Algonquian term meaning "something to lie down on" (compare Cree ᐊᐢᐹᐏᑲᓀᐦᐃᑲᐣ (aspaawikanehikan, “saddle blanket”), Ojibwe *apishimon, perhaps related to ishkwebi (“he or she sits at the end”); also compare Abenaki abi- (“sit”))
- asimina — "pawpaw (Asimina triloba)" (plant, fruit) — from an Algonquian word *assimin or *rassimin (the second element of which is -min, "berry, fruit"), via Cajun French assiminier
- bogan — (in Canada:) "any narrow water or creek, especially a narrow tranquil backwater" — apparently a conflation of "(poke)logan" and "bog"
- canticoy — "dance party, lively social gathering" — from an Algonquian, probably Lenape language; compare Unami këntke (“he dances”)
- carcajou — "wolverine" — probably from the same Algonquian source as "kinkajou"
- chunkey (also: chunky) — "particular game involving throwing a spear at a rolling disk" — Algonquian *chungke
- dockmackie — "maple-leaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)" — perhaps from a Lenape word *dogekumak for some smoke-able plant, via Dutch (whence the diminutive ending -ie), or perhaps from another Algonquian (e.g. Mahican) word
- hickory (originally: pokickery; then: hickery) — "deciduous hardwood tree (Carya or Annamocarya" — from an Algonquian word, probably Algonquin pawcohiccora
- kinkajou — "honey bear Potus flavus" — from an Algonquian word for "wolverine" only later transferred to the South American animal, compare Ojibwe gwiingwa'aage (“wolverine”) (related to "carcajou")
- logan — "(in the northeastern US) marsh" — shortening of "pokelogan" (which see)
- pipsissewa (also: pipissewa) — "umbellate wintergreen (Chimaphila umbellata)" — either from Cree *pipsissewa (“breaks (stones in the body) into small pieces”), compare ᐲᐏᓷᐤ (piiwiswew, “she/he cuts pieces off someone”), or from Abenaki kpipskwáhsawe (“flower of the woods”)
- pokelogan (also: "pokeloken") — "(in the northeastern US) marsh" — perhaps related to "pocosin"???
- macock — "(particular kind of) squash or pumpkin" — from a Carolina Algonquian or Powhatan word? (see also the unrelated "mocuck")
- maninose (earlier: mananosay) — "soft-shelled clam" — from a Native American language of the Carolinas, probably an Algonquian one, thus probably from Carolina Algonquian
- maracock, maypop — "fruit of a passion flower (similar to a lemon)" — from an Algonquian word?
- matchcoat — "(particular type of) fur mantle" — compare Ojibwe majigoode (“dress”) (related to "machicote")
- moose — "elk (Alces alces)" — compare Massachusett/Narragansett moos (“moose”), Penobscot mos (“moose”)
- muskimoot (uncommon) — "(woven) bag (especially as used by certain Algonquian peoples)" — compare Ojibwe mashkimod (“bag, sack”), Cree ᒪᐢᑭᒧᐟ (maskimot, “bag”)
- muskrat — see musquash
- nocake (obsolete: nokehike) — "corn parched and pounded into flour" — Narragansett nokehick or Abenaki nokhigan (“flour”) (related to "yokeag")
- pecan — "edible nut of the Carya illinoinensis", "Carya illinoinensis (tree)" — compare Miami (Illinois) pakani, Cree pakan (“hard nut”), Abenaki pagann (“nut; walnut, hazelnut”)
- pocosin (also: pocosen, pocoson) — "(in Virginia and the southeastern US) low, wooded swamp, palustrine wetland" — from an unknown Algonquian word, perhaps related to Abenaki pôgwaso (“very shallow”)
- podunk — "any small, insignificant inhabited place (town, etc.)" — from a particular place of that name, ultimately from an Algonquian term
- pokickery — see hickory
- pung — "low, box-like sled/sleigh designed to be drawn by one horse" — shortening of "tom-pung", from the same root as "toboggan"
- Quonset hut — "lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semicircular cross section" — named after the place they were manufactured; the placename derives from an Algonquian language
- sagamité (or: sagamite) — "stew of hulled (and often powdered) maize and grease" — from an Algonquian language; compare Cree ᑭᓵᑲᒥᑌᐚᐳᕀ (kisaakamitewaapoy, “hot water”)
- scuppernong — "large greenish-bronze grape", "wine made from this grape" — from an Algonquian word?
- skokeberry — "pokeberry" — from an Algonquian term for "red" (compare Abenaki mkw-, mskw- (“red”)) + (English) "berry"
- squeteague — "weakfish (Cynoscion regalis)" — Algonquian? (probably from a plural, compare "squit", which is probably from the singular) ("chickwit" and "succoteague" are probably variations of the same word)
- suckauhock (or: suckanhock) — "dark wampum" — Algonquian?? ("suck-" is said to be an Algonquian root for "black", compare Abenaki pesg-, psak-, bezeg- (“dark”))
- supawn (also sepawn, sepon, suppawn) — "boiled (corn) meal, hasty pudding" — probably Massachusett/Narragansett saupan (“softened by water”) (the same source as "samp")
- terrapin — "turtle" — from an Algonquian word; compare Abenaki tolba (“turtle”)
- toboggan — "sled/sleigh" (also: "winter hat") — Mikasuki tepaqan (“sled, sleigh”), Abenaki dabôgan (“sled, sleigh; thing made from wood”)
- togue — "lake trout, siscowet" — Algonquian???
- tomahawk — "ax" — compare Malecite-Passamaquoddy tomhikon (“ax”), Abenaki temahigan (“ax”)
- tullibee (also: tulibee) — "mongrel whitefish of the genus Coregonus" — Cree/Ojibwe odoonabii (literally “water mouth”) (with alternation of "n" and "l")
- wapato (also: wappatoo) — "arrowhead (plant, Sagittaria variabilis)", "edible bulbous root of this plant" — from Cree or Ojibwe?
- wapiti — "elk (Cervus canadensis)" — from Cree or Shawnee waapiti (“elk; white rump”) (Cree ᐚᐱ- (waapi-, “white”))
- wejack — "fisher, marten" — Cree ocêk (“fisher, marten”) or Ojibwe ojiig (“fisher, marten”) (compare "woodchuck" from the same root but misapplied)
- wickup — see wicopy
- wicopy (wickopy) — "one of several trees (Dirca or Tilia)" — compare Abenaki wigebi (“stringy inner bark (used as cordage)”)
- woodchuck — "groundhog" — Cree [script needed] (ocêk, “fisher, marten”) or Ojibwe ojiig (“fisher, marten”) (erroneously applied in English to the groundhog; compare "wejack" which is correctly applied to the fisher)
- woodshock — (obsolete form of "woodchuck" which was still sometimes applied to the marten, though other times misapplied to the groundhog)
- commonly conjectured to be Algonquian
- hackmatack — "larch" (nonstandard: "balsam poplar") — said to be of Native American (sometimes specifically Algonquian or, even more specifically, Abenaki) origin, but no etymon is known (compare "tamarack")
- tamarack — "larch" — said to be of Native American (sometimes specifically Algonquian or, even more specifically, Abenaki) origin, but no etymon is known (compare "hackmatack")
- zuisin — "American widgeon" — said to be probably of Algonquian origin; compare Ojibwe zhiishiib (“duck”)
from Abenaki and Penobscot
[edit]- cohosh — "herb with rough roots, used to treat women's health issues (Caulophyllum thalictroides)" (erroneously: "Actaea racemosa, which is smooth") — Penobscot *kkwὰhas (compare Massachusett kushki (“(it is) rough”))
- musquash — Ondatra zibethicus — probably from Abenaki moskwas (“muskrat”) ("muskrat" may be from the same source!)
- monadnock — "isolated mountain rising above a plain" — from Abenaki menadenak, menadenek (“isolated mountain”)
- oquassa — "blue-back trout" — (from Oquassa lake in Maine, where it is found, said to be) from Penobscot
- pauhagen — "menhaden (fish)" — ultimately from Abenaki or Penobscot (related to "poghaden")
- pekan — "fisher (Pekania pennanti, syn. Martes pennanti), marten (Martes americana)" — Abenaki apanakes (“pine marten (Martes americana”) or a Penobscot cognate of the same
- poghaden — "menhaden (fish)" — ultimately from Abenaki or Penobscot (related to "pauhagen")
- pogy — "menhaden (fish)" — (shortening of "poghaden")
- sagamore — "(Algonquian) chief" — Penobscot sagema (“chief”) (relate to "sachem")
- sannup — "male Native American, especially a married one" — Penobscot senabe (“man”), compare Abenaki sanôba (“man”)
- skunk — "small black animal with a white stripe and musk glands" — Abenaki segôgw (“skunk; he sprays”)
- tumpline — "strap passed around a chest or forehead to aid in carrying a pack" — (from tump, said to be from mattump, metomp, from) Penobscot *mádûmbí? from an Algonquian root *mat-a-pey??
- wannigan — "box, usually wood, for storing food" — Abenaki waniigan (“(kind of trap or box)”)
- wigwam — "type of Native American dwelling having an arched framework overlaid with bark, hides or mats, used in the northeastern US" — from Penobscot wigwom or Abenaki wigwôm (“house”)
from Cree and Montagnais (Innu)
[edit]- cawquaw — "Canadian porcupine" — Cree ᑳᑿ (kaakwa, “porcupine”)
- husky — "particular type of dog used to pull sleds in northern regions" — shortening of "husky dog", where "husky" is ultimately from the same Montagnais (Innu) root as "Eskimo"
- methy — "burbot, eel-pout (fish)" (called loche in Canadian French) — Woodland Cree mathay (Cree ᒥᔭᕀ (miyay)), actually the designation of the "mariah fish"
- muskeg — "wet, acidic peat bog (soil type), with spruce and woody vegetation" — Cree ᒪᐢᑫᐠ (maskek)
- namaycush — "togue, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)" — Cree ᓇᒣᑯᐢ (namekos, “lake trout”)
- pemmican — "concentrated mixture of dried meat and fruit (berries) (containing fat and protein" — Cree ᐱᒦᐦᑳᐣ (pimiihkaan, “pemmican”), from ᐱᒥᕀ (pimiy, “grease, oil, lard”)
- quickhatch — "wolverine" — Cree ᑮᐦᑿᐦᐋᐦᑫᐤ (kiihkwahaahkew, “wolverine”)
- saskatoon — "western North American shrub Amelanchier alnifolia", "edible berry of this shrub" — Cree ᒥᓵᐢᑿᑑᒥᐣ (misaaskwatoomin, “saskatoon berry”)
- shaganappi — "rawhide strap (thong, lacing)" (used e.g. to hold together Red River carts) — from Cree, compare ᐲᓵᑲᓈᐱᕀ (piisaakanaapiy, “rawhide thong, rope”)
- wananish (also: ouananiche, winninish) — "one of a particular variety of fish which are or are very similar to salmon" — (via Canadian French) from Montagnais, from wanans ("salmon") + -is (diminutive suffix)
- wavey (also: wavy) — "either of two wild geese of the genus Chen" — Cree *wewe, *wehwe-w
- wemistikoshiw — "among the Cree, a white person" — Cree "he has a wooden boat"
- whisky jack, whisky john — "grey jay, Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis)" — Cree wîskicâk/ᐑᐢᑭᒑᐠ (wiiskicaak, “Perisoreus canadensis”) and wîskacân/ᐑᐢᑲᒑᐣ (wiiskacaan, “Perisoreus canadensis”)
from Lenape (Delaware), Unami or Munsee
[edit]- kinnikinnick (a staggering variety of spellings exist, including ones ones with "l" like killikinick; see the entry for a list) — "mixture of bark, dried leaves, and sometimes tobacco, which is smoked", "any of the plants (which produce berries) used in this mixture" — from Unami këlëkënikàn (“smoking mixture, killikinick”)
- manitou (sometimes: manito) — "(term used by non-Native Americans for a) god, deity (as revered among Native North Americans)" — from Unami/Munsee, compare Unami manëtuhalao (“he gave him supernatural power”)
- moonack — "groundhog" — Unami munhake (“groundhog; he digs”)
- Neshannock — "white-fleshed variety of potato, suitable for table use" — (named for the place in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, where it was first produced; the placename deriving from) a Lenape term for "place of two streams", from nisha (“two”) + a root meaning "stream" (compare (tànk)hane (“narrow stream”), (wëlà)hëne (“nice stream”) + the locative suffix -k
- punkie (also: punky) — "any of the small biting gnats/midges of the family Ceratopogonidae" — Munsee *pónkwes
- rockaway (or: rockaway carriage, Rockaway carriage) — "either of two types of carriage" — after a placename, from Unami lekawe (“sandy place”) or a Munsee cognate of that word
- seawan (also: sewan, seawant, zeawant) — "wampum (especially if not strung)" — Munsee *séwan (“unstrung (scattered) wampum”)
- shoepac — "shoe (especially: warm, waterproofed boot)" — Unami chipakw (“shoe”) (with hte anglicisation influenced by "shoe")
- tipitiwitchet — "Venus flytrap" — a Lenape word titipiwitshik (“they (the leaves) wind around (things)”)
from Malecite-Passamaquoddy
[edit]- (also called Maliseet–Passamaquoddy)
- quoddy — "herring, especially if caught and cured (or smoked) near any of the various northeastern American places named Quoddy or Passamquoddy" — (from the placenames, from the tribe's name, thus) ultimately from Malecite-Passamaquoddy
from Massachusett or Narragansett
[edit]- menhaden (also: menhadden) — "any fish of the genus Brevoortia and sometimes Ethmidium" — Narragansett munnawhatteaug, influenced by "poghaden" ("pauhagen"), which may be from Abenaki/Penobscot (and which is the source of "pogy")?
- mishcup — "porgy (fish)" — Narragansett mishcup ("porgy", singular) (from the same Narragansett word: "paugie", "scup", "scuppaug")
- mohawk — "particular hairstyle" — from the exonym "Mohawk" applied to the Kanienkehaka (a particular tribe), from a Narragansett word meaning "they eat animate things"
- mugwump — "important person" (now only sarcastically or derisively) — Massachusett (*)mugquomp (“important person”)
- mummichog (also: mummychog/mummachog) — "hardy killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) found in brackish and coastal waters of North America" — Narragansett moamitteaug
- Narragansett pacer — "(horse from the) Rhode Island breed of horses, which were once renowned" — from the Rhode Island town named for the Narragansett tribe
- netop (rare) — "friend" — Narragansett my friend
- old squaw (also: oldsquaw) — "long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis)" — "old" + "squaw"
- papoose — "child (especially if Native North American)" — Narragansett papoos (“child”)
- paugie — "porgy (fish)" — Narragansett mishcuppauog ("porgies", plural) (likely reinforced by matching non-rhotic pronunciations of "porgy") (from the same Narragansett word: "mishcup", "scup", "scuppaug")
- peag — "wampum" — (from English wampumpeag, from) Narragansett wampompeag (“(string of) beads”) (see "wampum")
- pooquaw (earlier: pequaock) — "Nantucket or Long Island Sound hard-shelled clam" — Narragansett *poquauhock
- pooseback — "piggyback" — ("papoose" + "back")
- powwow — "(Native North American meeting or ritual", "shaman", "secret meeting" (as a verb: "to hold a powwow") — Massachusett pauwau or Narragansett powwaw (both from a root meaning "shaman")
- quahog (also: quahaug) — "small or hard-shelled edible clam" — from Narragansett *poquauhock
- sachem — "(Algonquian) chief" — Narragansett sachem (“chief”) (related to "sagamore")
- samp — "(porridge made from) coarse ground maize" — Massachusett nasaump (“softened with water”) (compare "supawn")
- scup — "porgy (fish)" — Narragansett mishcup or mishcuppauog ("porgy", singular, or "porgies", plural, respectively) (from the same Narragansett word: "mishcup", "paugie", "scuppaug")
- scuppaug — "paugie, scup (fish)" — Narragansett mishcuppauog ("porgies", plural) (from the same Narragansett word: "mishcup", "paugie", "scup")
- squantersquash — "squash" (the term is obsolete) — Narragansett *askútasquash
- squantum — "a picnic on the beach, a clambake" — (apparently from a placename, from) Massachusett
- squash — "edible gourd Cucurbita" — shortening of "squantersquash"
- squaw — "woman, wife (especially if Algonquian)" (sometimes offensive) — compare Narragansett squaw (“woman”)
- squawberry (also: squaw berry) — "partridge berry (Mitchella repens)" — "squaw" + "berry"
- squaw carpet — "Ceanothus prostratus, a flat, mat-forming shrub" — "squaw" + "carpet"
- squaw fish (also: squawfish) — "cyprinid fish of the genus Ptychocheilus which preys on small trout and salmon" — "squaw" + "fish"
- squaw mint — "American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) — "squaw" + "mint"
- squaw root (also: squawroot) — "Conopholis americana, which is parasitic on the roots of other trees", "Trillium erectum, which has foul-smelling, yellow to purple flowers" — "squaw" + "root"
- squaw vine (also: squawvine) — "partridge berry (Mitchella repens)" — "squaw" + "vine"
- squaw weed (also: squawweed) — "golden ragwort (Packera aurea)" — "squaw" + "weed"
- squaw winter — (in New York:) "early onset of winter, early (October) cold snap, often followed by flurries of snow", (in northwest Canada:) "mild onset of winter" — "squaw" + "winter"
- succotash — "stew of corn kernels (and lima beans and tomatoes)" — Narragansett msíckquatash (“boiled corn kernels”)
- tautog — "blackfish (a particular wrasse)" — Narragansett tautauog (“blackfish wrasses”, plural)
- wamp — "eider" — probably from Massachusett wompi (“white”)
- wampum — "small polished beads, strung together" (informally: "money") — (from English wampumpeag, from) Narragansett wampompeag (“(string of) beads”) (compare "hiaqua")
- wetu — "domed hut similar to a wigwam, used especially by the Wampanoag" — from Massachusett
from Mi'kmaq
[edit]- babiche — "cord or lacing of rawhide or sinew (used in place of cord or rope)" — Mi'kmaq a'papi'j (“thread, string”)
- caribou — "(North American subspecies of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)" — Mi'kmaq qalipu (“snow-shoveller”)
from Mohegan-Pequot
[edit]- chogset — "cunner (fish)" — (from an earlier spelling, "cachogset", from) Algonquian; probably Mohegan-Pequot cachauxet (“cunner”)
- muckawis — "whippoorwill" — probably from Mohegan-Pequot (Pequot) múckkowheesce
- yokeag — "dried, pulverized corn kernels, sometimes mixed with maple sugar" — Mohegan-Pequot yok'hig, shortening of yok'higan (“(that which is) made soft”) (related to "nocake" and "rokeag")
from Ojibwe
[edit]- chipmunk (earlier: chitmunk) — "squirrel-like rodent of the genus Tamias" — Ojibwe ajidamoog (“(chipmunk;) those who descend headlong, headfirst”)
- cisco — "(any of several particular) North American freshwater fish" — (shortening of "siscowet")
- machicote — "(particular type of) skirt or underskirt" — Ojibwe majigoodenh (“skirt, dress”) (related to "matchcoat")
- mackinaw — "heavy, thick woolen cloth", "coat made from this cloth", "particular kind of boat", "particular kind of trout" — ultimately from Ojibwe mishinii-makinaang (“at the place of many snapping turtles”)
- maskinonge — (variant or synonym of "muskellunge")
- massasauga — "rattlesnake (Crotalus catenatus or Sistrurus catenatus)" — Ojibwe massasauga (“great river mouth”) (michaa (“it is big”), sagi (“river mouth”, old orthography))
- mocuck — "box-like container made from birch-bark, especially one in which sugar is stored" — probably Ojibwe makak (“semi-rigid container, birch bark basket, box”) (see also the unrelated "macock")
- muskellunge — "large fish of the pike family, Esox masquinongy" — Ojibwe (maashkinoozhe,) maazhiginoozhe (“(ugly) kind of pike”)
- Muskoka chair — "Adirondack chair" — from the place named for the Ojibwe chief Mesqua Ukie/Miskwaa-aki
- musky — "muskellunge" — (shortening of "muskellunge")
- nitchie (also: neechee) — "a Native American" (in Canadian usage, usually offensive) — from Ojibwe niijii (“friend”)
- pembina (or: pimbina) — "Viburnum edule, squashberry, lowbush cranberry", "edible berry of this plant, from which jam may be produced" — Ojibwe niibiminaa, an earlier form of aniibimin (“high-bush cranberry”)
- siscowet — "(any of several particular) North American freshwater fish" — Ojibwe (bimide-wiskawet, bimide-wi(i)- (“fish with oily flesh”) or siscowet (“cooks itself”)) ("cisco" is a shortening of this word)
- totem — "clan (defined in reference to a natural object or creature, which serves as its emblem)", "that object or creature, or a representative thereof" — Ojibwe odoodeman (“clan”)
- watap — "spruce root split lengthwise into strips" — Ojibwe wadab (“spruce root”)
- calques
- firewater — "whiskey" — calque of Ojibwe ishkodewaaboo (“alcohol”), from ishkodew- (“fire”) + -aaboo (“liquid”, glossed in older works as “water”)
- medicine man — "(Native American) shamanistic healer" — calque of Ojibwe mashkikiiwinini (“doctor”), from mashkiki (“medicine”) + inini (“man”)
- two-spirit — "Native (North) American who is not cismale or cisfemale, but is transgender or belongs to a third gender" — calque of Ojibwe niizh manidoowag (“two spirits; male-bodied person who lives as a woman”), from niizh (“two”) + manidoo (“spirit”)
from Powhatan
[edit]- Atamasco lily (or: atamasco lily) — "rain lily (Zephyranthes atamasco)" — said to be from Powhatan *attamusca
- chinquapin (also: chinkapin) — "any of several shrubs and trees" — said to be from Powhatan *chechinquamins (plural) (sometimes considered to derive from a word for chestnut, in which case compare (also with regard to "wankapin") Abenaki wôbimen (“chestnut”); Ojibwe gichi-(jawê)min (“chestnut”), miskomin (“raspberry”); in any case, the final element is *mini (“berry, fruit”)
- chum — "fish parts and blood, dumped into the water to attract fish" (as a verb: "to fish using chum") — Powhatan??
- hominy (also: rockahominy) — "(food of) hulled maize kernels soaked in lye water, rinsed, then either cooked and eaten or dried and ground" — from one of several similar Powhatan words
- moccasin — "deerskin leather shoe" (also: "any of several kinds of snake") — Powhatan *mockasin, *mawhcasun, *makasin
- opossum — "American marsupial (Didelphys or Chironectes)" — Powhatan opassum (“white animal”)
- persimmon — "Diospyros fruit (berry), visually similar to a tomato, which is sweet when ripe but astringent when immature" (also: "tree that produces this fruit/berry") — Powhatan *pichamin(s), *pushemin(s), *pasimenan ("dried fruit")
- pocan — (variant of "pocones" or "puccon", which are synonymous)
- pocones — see puccoon
- poke, pokeberry, pokeroot, pokeweed — "plant of the genus Phytolacca, which is initially poisonous but with berries and shoots which may be eaten after washing, and which yields a red dye" — Powhatan (related to "puccoon")
- pone — "baked or fried cornmeal bread (perhaps made without milk or eggs), cornbread" — Powhatan apones (“bread”), compare Abenaki abôn (“bread”)
- possum — see opossum
- puccoon (earlier: pocones) — "any of several plants which yield a red dye", "this dye" — Powhatan (*)poughkone (“bloodroot, red dye”) (related to "poke")
- raccoon — "grey-furred nocturnal omnivore (Procyon)" — Powhatan ärähkun (“raccoon; he scratches”)
- roanoke — "white beads of low value made from shells" — Powhatan *rawrenock (said to mean "things rubbed smooth by hand")
- rockahominy — see hominy
- tuckahoe — "edible root of the wild potato (arrow arum, Peltandra virginica)" (by extension: "person forced by poverty to subsist on this root") — Powhatan (*)tockawhoughe
- werowance (or: weroance) — "(Native American) chief (in Virginia or Maryland)" — presumably from Powhatan???
- werowansqua (or: weroansqua) — "female weroance, female (Native American) chief, princess" — almost certainly from the same source as "werowance"
from other specific Algonquian languages
[edit]- chebacco (also: chebec) — "narrow-sterned boat" (used in Newfoundland fisheries) — (from the town of that name) from Agawam, an Eastern Algonquian language
- sea puss (earlier: seapoose; sometimes especially erroneously: sea-purse) — "(oceanic phenomenon:) strong nearshore current resulting from seaward water flow" — Quiripi (Unquachog) seépus (“river”), cognate to Abenaki sibo (“river”)
- sepoose — "(flowing) channel which results when a cut is deliberately made by humans in a barrier beach which separates a bay from an ocean, so as to control the water level in the bay (which affects water mills) and its salinity (which affects shellfish)" — (this variant spelling of "sea puss" is used when the word has this sense)
- wickiup — "domed hut-like Native American dwelling used in the southwestern and western US" — Fox/Kickapoo wiikiyaapi (“lodge, house”)
from Caddoan languages
[edit]from Caddo
[edit]- caddi — "civil/secular chief of the Hasinai confederacy" — Caddo (related to English "Caddo", from Caddo kaduhdá·čuʔ (a particular Caddoan band))
- cona — "(Caddo) minor shaman who can cure sickness, ward off evil, and make predictions" — Caddo cona, kuna (“doctor, healer”)
- xinesi (also: chenesi) — "high priest of the Hasinai confederacy" — Caddo xinesi, chenesi (“priest”)
from Chinookan languages
[edit]from Chinook
[edit]- (also called Lower Chinook, Chinook proper)
- cheechako (also: cheechaco) — "newcomer, greenhorn, tenderfoot (especially to Alaska or western Canada)" — Chinook Jargon cheechako (“newcomer”), from chee (“new, lately”) (Chinook čxi (“straightway”)) + chako (“come, arrive”) (Nootka čokʷa, čokwa (“come!”, imperative)) (this word is consequently also listed in the section for Nootka derivations)
- chum salmon — "Oncorhynchus keta" — Chinook Jargon tzum (“spotted, marked”), from Chinook (+ English "salmon")
- eulachon (also: oolachon, hooligan) — "small edible North American candlefish (Thaleichthys pacificus)" — Chinook Jargon ulakan, from Clatsop Chinook uλalxʷen (a kind of fish)
- hooligan — (in the sense "fish", variant of eulachon)
- salal — "leathery-leaved North American shrub with edible sepals and leaves, Gaultheria shallon" — Chinook sálal (via Chinook Jargon) (probably from the same root as "shallon")
- sewellel — "mountain beaver" — Chinook sewellel, shewellel (“mountain beaver pelt robe”)
- shallon — "salal (Gaultheria shallon)" — Chinook
- soopolallie — "deciduous shrub Shepherdia canadensis", "Canadian buffaloberry, soapberry, the red fruit/berry of this shrub, which may be used in the production of a frothy, aromatic, distinctive-tasting drink sometimes called 'Indian ice cream'" — Chinook Jargon from soop (“soap”) (from English) + olallie, ollalie (“berry”) (from a Chinook word for berries)
from Chinook Jargon
[edit]- (words are listed here only if their original language unclear)
- high muckamuck (also: high muckety-muck) — "important person" — Chinook Jargon hayo muckamuck (“plenty to eat, plenty of food”) (see "muckamuck")
- kouse (or: kowse) — "(edible root of a particular) plant of the genus Lomatium (as used by Native American as food and medicine" — Chinook Jargon, from???
- muckamuck (also: muckety-muck) — "food", (later, as a short form of "high muckamuck":) "important person" — Chinook Jargon muckamuck (“food”) (the earlier origin of the term is unclear; it is possible it was invented within Chinook Jargon rather than borrowed into the Jargon from another language)
from Iroquoian languages
[edit]from Southern Iroquoian languages
[edit]- sequoia — "either the one living or the one extinct genus of redwood coniferous trees in the Sequoioideae subfamily, of the Cupressaceae family" — after the Cherokee figure Sequoyah ᏍᏏᏉᏯ (ssiquoya, as he signed his name) / ᏎᏉᏯ (sequoya, as his name is often spelled today)
from Northern Iroquoian languages
[edit]- Adirondack chair — "particular kind of outdoor lounge chair made of wood, with wide arm rests" — from the mountains, from the Mohawk *ratirontaks, atirú:taks, hatiron'taks (“they eat trees”), a generic Mohawk term for other tribes (including the French and English, but especially other Native Americans who ate bark and buds in times of need)
- wyandotte (often: Wyandotte) — "particular kind of poultry, said to be a cross of a bantam cock and a Cochin hen", "the Wyandot people" — (from the tribe name,) from Wyandot (in the Huronian family) Wendat (their autonym)
specific language unclear
[edit]- dowitcher — "any of three long-legged, long-billed wading birds in the genus Limnodromus" — from an Iroquoian (northern?) language, compare Oneida tawístawe (“snipe”)
- Niagara — "deluge, flood, torrent", "large, juicy, green North American grape: a variety of Vitis labrusca which is eaten and used in the production of wines, jams and white grape juice", "a particular river which flows, over a waterfall, from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario" — ("deluge" alludes to the waterfall, the grape is named after the area of its origin; the name of the area is from) Iroquoian
- ondatra — "muskrat" — from an Iroquoian (northern?) language, perhaps Wyandot (Huron)
- Oswego tea — "Monarda didyma" — "Oswego" (from an Iroquoian language) + "tea"
from Mayan languages
[edit]specific lect unclear
[edit]- cigar — "tobacco in a thick roll wrapped with (an outer covering of) tobacco leaves, intended to be smoked" — Mayan sicar (“smoke tobacco leaves”, verb)
- cigarette — "tobacco in a thin roll wrapped with paper, intended to be smoked" — from "cigar"
- halach uinic — "Mayan governor" — from Mayan halach uinic (“true man”)
from Q'eqchi
[edit]- kelep — "Guatemalan stinging ant Ectatomma tuberculatum" — Q'eqchi
from Yucatec Maya
[edit]- balché (or: balche) — "intoxicating drink made by soaking the bark of the leguminous tree Lonchocarpus violaceus in honey and water and fermenting it" — Yucatec Maya
- cenote — "deep well, formed naturally by the collapse of surface limestone, exposing the groundwater underneath, into which the Maya cast sacrificial offerings" — Yucatec Maya ts'onot
from Misumalpan languages
[edit]from Miskito
[edit]- cohune — "South American palm Orbignya cohune, which produces large nuts" — Miskito ókhún
- dory — "small, flat-bottomed boat" — perhaps from Miskito dóri, dúri, if this Miskito word is not a loan from English(!)
from Muskogean languages
[edit]from Choctaw
[edit]- appaloosa — "catfish" — shortening of "Appaloosa cat", named for the Appaloosa (Opelousa) tribe; the tribe's name is from Choctaw, the second element being losa (“black”) (not related to "appaloosa" meaning "horse")
- bayou — "(in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas, a) "slow-moving, often stagnant creek or river", "(in LA, NS, TX, AR, a) swamp, marshy (stagnant) body of water" — (Cajun French, from) Choctaw bayuk (“creek”)
- bobbasheely — "good friend" (as a verb: "to hang out (with friends)") — Choctaw itibapishili (“sibling, one who was nursed together with (someone)”)
- bogue — "bayou, waterway" — (Cajun French, from) Choctaw bok (“creek, stream”)
- okeh — (variant of "OK") — Choctaw okeh (“it is so”) (this is sometimes given as the etymology of "OK" itself, although this is doubtful)
- sac-a-lait — "white crappie (Pomoxis annularis)" — (Cajun French, from) Choctaw sakli (“trout”)
from Creek (Muscogee)
[edit]- catawba — see the term's entry in the Catawba section
- coontie — "either of two arrowroots, Zamia integrifolia or Zamia floridana", "flour produced (by Seminoles) from the starch of these plants" — Creek (Muscogee)
- sofkee (also: sofkey) — "grits" — Creek osafke (“corn gruel”)
- tupelo — "any of several trees of the genus Nyssa, especially Nyssa aquatica, which grow in swampy regions on the eastern, southern and midwestern United States" — Creek (Muscogee)
- wahoo — "winged elm (Ulmus alata)" — Creek *uhawhu
from Na-Dene languages
[edit]from Athabaskan languages
[edit]- hogan — "(Navajo) dwelling, constructed of branches covered with mud" — Navajo (in the Apachean family) hooghan (“dwelling, house”)
- quinzhee (or: quinzee) — "temporary shelter made by hollowing out a pile of settled snow" — South Slavey kǫ́ yíi (“in the shelter”) (compare "igloo")
from Tlingit
[edit]- hooch (also: hootch) — "(cheap) alcohol, liquor, whiskey" — shortening of "Hoochinoo", name of a specific alcohol, from the name of the tribe which produced it, said to be from Tlingit Hutsnuwu (“grizzly bear fort”)
from Penutian languages
[edit]- (this is a hypothetical grouping used here only for convenience)
from Plateau Penutian languages
[edit]- wokas (also: wocus, wocas, wokus) — "yellow water lily", "edible (dried, hulled) seeds of this lily" — Klamath-Modoc wokas (“seeds of the yellow water lily”)
from Utian languages
[edit]- abalone — "edible univalve mollusc of the genus Haliotis", "meat of this mollusc" — Rumsen (Southern Ohlone) aūlun (“red abalone”) (though another theory considers that term Shoshone)
from Purepecha
[edit]- huarache — "particular (Mexican) kind of sandal", "food similar in shape to that sandal, consisting of salsa, potato, meat and cheese atop a fried masa (dough) base" — Purepecha kwarachi (“sandal”)
from Salishan languages
[edit]from Halkomelem
[edit]- coho (coho salmon) — "anadromus and semelparous salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, found in the coastal regions of the northern Pacific Ocean, used as a symbol by several Native American tribes" — Halkomelem kʷexʷeθ
- sasquatch — "mythical large hairy humanoid", "any very hairy person" — Halkomelem sásq'ets
- sockeye — "Oncorhynchus nerka, a small salmon", "the edible red flesh of this fish" — Halkomelem sθeqey, probably meaning red fish
from Lower Chehalis
[edit]- skookum — (as an adjective:) "impressive, excellent, strong", (as a noun:) "woodland monster" — Chinook Jargon, from Lower Chehalis skʷekʷem (“spirit, monster”)
from Lushootseed
[edit]- geoduck (or: goeduck, gweduck) — "species of large saltwater clam (Panopea generosa)" — Lushootseed gʷídeq (“dig deep”)
from Shuswap
[edit]- kokanee — "lacustrine sockeye (that is, a land-locked one, one found in lakes and not in the ocean)" — Shuswap keknǽxʷ
- wila — "the black tree lichen, Bryoria fremontii" — Shuswap wíle (“black tree lichen”)
from Siouan–Catawban languages
[edit]from Siouan (proper) languages
[edit]- ohunkakan — "traditional Sioux evening stories" — Lakota ohúŋkakaŋ (“myth, story of the distant (mythic) past”)
- tipi, teepee — "cone-shaped tent-like Native American dwelling used in the Great Plains" — Lakota thípi (“house”)
- wahoo — "Euonymus atropurpureus, a burning bush" — from a Dakota word, the first element of which is cognate to Lakota waŋ (“arrow”)
from Catawba
[edit]- catawba (some senses erroneously also: catalpa) — "reddish American desert grape", "Rhododendron catawbiense rhododendron", "any tree of the genus Catalpa" — Catawba catawba (“catawba tree”, the totem of the Catawba tribe) (sometimes alternatively said to derive from a Creek word like katałpa)
- yaupon — "Ilex vomitoria, an evergreen holly shrub with white flowers and red or yellow berries, found in the southeastern United States" — Catawba yąpą, from yą (“wood, tree”) pą (“leaf”)
from Uto-Aztecan languages
[edit]specific language unclear
[edit]- chuckwalla — "lizard of the genus Sauromalus, which lives in arid regions of the Southwestern United States" — (via Spanish, from) either Shoshone tcaxxwal or Cahuilla cháxwal
from Hopi
[edit]- kachina (also: katchina, katsina) — "vaguely ancestral anthropomorphic spirit being", "wooden doll which represents such a being" (and some other senses) — Hopi qatsina
- kiva — "ceremonial underground chamber in a Pueblo village" — Hopi kíva
- Moqui marble (or: Moki marble) — "any of a group of iron oxide concretions shaped like small balls found in the Navajo Sandstone Formation in Utah" — Hopi móókwi (a former autonym of the tribe)
- piki (also: piki bread) — "(thin, tortilla-like sheet of) rolled bread made of nixtamalized corn meal" — presumably from Hopi
from Nahuatl lects
[edit]- achiote — "tropical American evergreen plant, Bixa orellana, annatto", "seed of this plant used for its flavour or orange-red colour, annatto" — Nahuatl āchiotl
- altepetl — "sovereign Nahuan sociopolitical unit" — Classical Nahuatl āltepētl, so called because it contains ātl (“water”) (sic) and tepētl (“earth, hill”)
- amate — "paper made from the bark of adult Ficus trees" — Classical Nahuatl āmatl (“paper”) (figuratively also meant "ability to write")
- amole — "any of various plants, such as Mexican agave plants, used as soap" — Classical Nahuatl ahmōlli (“soap”)
- atlatl — "wooden stick with a thong or perpendicularly protruding hook on the rear end that grips a grove or socket on the butt of its accompanying spear, thus steadying the spear and increasing its range and force of penetration" — Classical Nahuatl atlatl (“spear-thrower”)
- atole — "thick drink made of finely ground maize, mixed with water" — Nahuatl ātōlli (“maize gruel”)
- avocado — "Central Mexican tree Persea americana", "large, usually yellowish-green or black, pulpy fruit of this tree, having a single large pit: alligator pear, butter pear" — Nahuatl āhuacatl (“avocado”)
- axolotl — "neotenic salamander, found in the elevated lakes of Mexico, which begin as larvae but do not naturally undergo metamorphosis" — Nahuatl āxōlōtl (“water monster”)
- ayocote — "runner bean" (Phaseolus coccineus) — (via Spanish, from) Nahuatl ayocotl
- cacao — "Theobroma cacao tree", "seed or bean of this tree, contained within a pod, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter are extracted" — Nahuatl cacahuatl (“cacao bean; any small, rounded hard thing, including an egg”) ("cocoa" derives from this word, "cacao")
- calmecac — (historically, in Aztec society:) "school at which young nobles received military training and a very basic education" — Nahuatl calmecac, probably a compound with calli (“house”) as one of its elements
- calpolli (or: calpulli) — "organizational unit below the level of an altepetl" — Nahuatl calpōlli (“big house”)
- centzontle (also written other ways) — "mockingbird" (rare) — Nahuatl centzontlatole (“mockingbird”)
- chayote — "Sechium edule, a vine of the gourd family", "pear squash, vegetable pear: green, pear-shaped fruit of this plant, which may be eaten raw or cooked" — Classical Nahuatl pachayotli, chayotli
- chia — "Mexican plant Salvia columbariae, which edible seeds, related to mint" — Nahuatl chian (“oily”)
- chicle — "milky latex of the Manilkara chicle tree, used after coagulation as the principal ingredient of chewing gum" — Nahuatl tziktli (“sticky stuff”) (or possibly Mayan tsicte)
- chilacayote — "Cucurbita ficifolia squash" — Classical Nahuatl chilacayohtli
- chilaquiles — "traditional Mexican dish of fried tortilla chips topped with salsa" — Classical Nahuatl chīlātl (“pepper-water”) (from chīlli (“pepper”) + ātl (“water”)) + quilitl (“edible plant or vegetable”)
- chile (also: chili) — "spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers" — from "chilli"
- chilli (or: chili) — "dish made with peppers and other ingredients, such as beans and meat" — Nahuatl chilli (“pepper”)
- chiltepin (also: chiltepe) — "Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum pepper" — Nahuatl chilli (“pepper”) + tecpin (“flea”)
- chiltoma — "Capsicum annuum"/"any sweet pepper" — Nahuatl (perhaps a combination of chilli (“chili, pepper”) and tomatl (“tomatillo”), or perhaps from chīltōtōtl (“brightly-coloured bird”))
- chinampa — (historical, in Mesoamerica) "small, rectangular floating island of fertile arable l and to grow crops on the shallow lake beds" — Classical Nahuatl chināmitl (“cane fence”)
- chipotle — "smoked, dried jalapeño" — Classical Nahuatl chīlli (“chile, pepper”) + pōctli (“smoke”)
- chocolate — "food made from ground roasted cocoa beans", "dark, reddish-brown colour like that of the food" — Nahuatl chocolātl (“chocolate”) or a similar term referring to chocolate or to an instrument used in chocolate production
- cocoa — "chocolate" (historically), "unsweetened brown powder made from roasted, ground cocoa beans, used in baking and chocolate production: cocoa powder", "cocoa liquor: pure liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean", "cocoa butter: theobroma oil, a pale-yellow, pure, edible vegetable fat extracted from cocoa beans", "hot cocoa: hot chocolate: hot drink made with milk, cocoa powder, and sugar" — (metathesis of "cacao")
- copal — "aromatic tree resin, in a stage of polymerization and hardening intermediate between that of gummy resins and that of amber" — Nahuatl copalli (“incense”)
- coyote — "American jackal, prairie wolf (Canis latrans), canine native to an area stretching from Panama to Canada" — Nahuatl coyōtl (“coyote”)
- epazote — "pungent herb used in Central and South American cooking and tea making (Chenopodium ambrosioides)" — Classical Nahuatl epazōtl
- guacamole — "avocado-based green dip" — Nahuatl āhuacamōlli (“dish made from avocado”)
- haricot — "bean, kidney bean" — probably from Nahuatl ayecotli (“bean”), with the spelling influenced by the unrelated word "haricot" for "stew" (from French)
- hoatzin (also: hoactzin, hoazin) — "blue-faced, crested bird Opisthocomus hoazin, which has an enlarged crop used as a rumen" — Nahuatl (not Classical Nahuatl) huāctzin (which probably designated a different bird)
- huipil — "traditional blouse worn by women (from various Central America peoples including the Maya and Zapotec" — Classical Nahuatl huīpīlli (“woman's blouse”)
- huitlacoche — "corn smut, considered as food" — Classical Nahuatl cuitlacoch (“ear of maize infected with fungus”)
- jícama (also: jicama) — "Mexican vine Pachyrhizus erosus", "edible tuberous root of this plant, which resembles a potato" — Nahuatl xicamatl
- macpalxochitl — "Chiranthodendron pentadactyllon, a tree which has red, five-fingered hand-shaped flowers" — Nahuatl mācpalxōchitl (“palm (of the hand) flower”)
- mescal (or: mezcal) — "intoxicating drink made from fermented agave juice", "agave which is used to produce this drink", "peyote" — Nahuatl mexcalli (“intoxicating drink made from agave”) (see also "peyote")
- mescaline — "psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine class found naturally in several cactus species" — (from "mescal")
- mesquite — "any of several deciduous trees of the genus Prosopis, which have long, beige seed/bean pods which may be dried and ground into a sweet, nutty flour", "wood of these trees, or charcoal made from it, used when smoking food" — Nahuatl mizquitl (“mesquite tree”)
- metate — "flat stone with a slightly concave surface, used with a mano, another stone, for grinding maize or other grains" — Classical Nahuatl metlatl (“grinding stone”) ("mano" is from Spanish)
- mole — "any of several spicy sauces typical of the cuisine of Mexico and neighboring Central America, especially the sauce which contains chocolate and which is used in cooking main dishes, not desserts" — Nahuatl mōlli (“sauce; stew; something ground”)
- nahual (also: nagual) — "animal form a person may take", "person who may take an animal form" — Nahuatl nahualli (“sorcerer, spirit, animal form a person may take”) (see also "tonal")
- nahualism (also: nagualism) — "the (Mesoamerican instance of) belief in the transformation of humans into animals" — from "nahual"
- nahuatlato — "interpreter of an indigenous language, especially but not always Nahuatl", "scholar of Nahuatl" — Nahuatl nāhuatlahtoh, nahuatlato (“interpreter, translator”)
- nixtamal — "hominy: maize/corn kernels which have undergone nixtamalization, that is, which have been hulled and soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution" — Classical Nahuatl nextamalli (“hominy”), from nextli (“ashes, lime”) + tamalli (“something wrapped”)
- nixtamalization (or: nixtamalisation) — "soaking and cooking of hulled maize/corn kernels in an alkaline solution" — from "nixtamal"
- nopal — "prickly pear cactus from the genus Opuntia, which has edible leaves" (often, the plural "nopales" is used when the leaves are an ingredient in a dish) — Nahuatl nopalli (“prickly pear cactus”)
- ocelot — "dwarf leopard (Leopardus pardalis), pale yellow-orange wild cat covered with blackish ocellated spots and blotches" — Nahuatl ōcēlōtl (“jaguar”)
- octli — "pulque: milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic drink, which produces a light foam, made by fermenting the sap of certain types of agave plants" — Nahuatl octli (particular alcoholic beverage)
- oyamel — "sacred fir (Abies religiosa), South American evergreen conifer" — Nahuatl *oyamel
- peyote — "small, spineless cactus Lophophora williamsii which produces button-like tubercles which have psychedelic effects upon consumers of them" — Classical Nahuatl peyotl (see also "mescal")
- pinole — "coarse flour made from ground toasted maize kernels, often mixed with herbs, eaten by itself (sic) or incorporated into drinks" — Nahuatl pinolli (“maize flour; any powder”)
- pozole — "pre-Columbian soup made from hominy, other things and seasonings" — Nahuatl/Classical Nahuatl pozolli (“stew of maize kernels”)
- pulque — "octli: milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic drink, which produces a light foam, made by fermenting the sap of certain types of agave plants" — (via an erroneous Spanish adoption of) Nahuatl octli poliuhqui (“spoilt octli”)
- quetzal — "strikingly colored bird in the trogon family" — Nahuatl quetzalli (“large tail feather of the quetzal”)
- quetzalcoatlus — "North America pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage, about 68–65.5 million years ago)" — Classical Nahuatl Quetzalcohuātl (“feathered serpent”, a deity)
- sapodilla — "Manilkara zapota, a long-lived, evergreen tree, which has edible fruit" — related to "sapote"
- sapote (also: zapote, sapota, zapota) — "edible fruit of the sapodilla tree" — Nahuatl tzapotl (“sapote (fruit)”)
- shack — "crude, roughly built hut" — (some authorities derive it from Nahuatl xacalli (“adobe hut”), but others consider this phonologically impossible and relate the word to English "ramshackle")
- sotol — "any of several plants of the genus Dasylirion, of the agave family", "distilled spirit made from the Dasylirion wheeleri" — Nahuatl zotolin (“palm tree”)
- tacamahac (also: tacamahaca) — "particular resinous product", "any tree yielding such resin, especially the balsam poplar" — Nahuatl tecamac
- tamal (or: tamale) — "dish, consisting of a masa (meal, often cornmeal) shell filled (e.g. with meat) and steamed or boiled in a leaf or corn-husk wrapper (which is discarded before consumption)" — Nahuatl tamalli (“tamale”) (in English, "tamale" is a back-formation from "tamales", but it continues the Nahuatl syllabification)
- tegu — "any of 7 species of large South America lizards of the genus Tupinambis" — from "teguexin"
- teguexin — "large South American lizard with yellowish spots" (a "gold tegu"?) — Nahuatl tecoixin (“lizard”)
- telpochcalli — (historically, in Aztec society:) "school at which young commoners received military training and a very basic education" — Nahuatl tēlpōchcalli, a compound of tēlpōchtli (“young man, son”) + calli (“house”)
- teosinte — "grass of the genus Zea, sometimes cultivated as a fodder plant" — Nahuatl teōcintli
- tequila — "alcoholic drink made from the blue agave plant" — named for the town where it was produced; the placename is Nahuatl (Tequillan)
- tlachtli — (Nahuan version of the Mesoamerican ballgame) — Classical Nahuatl tlachtli (other names include "ulama", "ullamaliztli")
- tomato — "widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum", "savory fruit of this plant, which is red when ripe" — Classical Nahuatl tomatl
- tonal — "animal companion which accompanies a person from birth to death; animal to which a person acquires a spiritual link upon birth" — Nahuatl tōnalli (“day, day sign”)
- tule — "hardstem bulrush, viscid bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus)" — Classical Nahuatl tōllin
- ulama — (Nahuan version of the Mesoamerican ballgame) — Classical Nahuatl ōllamaliztli (other names include "tlachtli", "ullamaliztli")
- ullamaliztli — (another version of the Mesoamerican ballgame) — Classical Nahuatl ōllamaliztli (other names include "ulama", "tlachtli")
- xochinacaztli — "earflower (Cymbopetalum penduliflorum)" — Nahuatl xōchinacaztli (“ear-flower”), from xōchitl (“flower”); so called because it resembles an ear
- xocomecatlite — "orthorhombic telluride mineral which occurs as aggregates or spherules of green, needle-like crystals" — Nahuatl xocomecatl (“grapevine”) (+ English -ite)
- zopilote — "buzzard or vulture" — Classical Nahuatl tzopīlōtl
from Numic languages
[edit]- sego (or: sego lily) — "perennial bulb lily, Calochortus nuttallii, which has trumpet-shaped flowers" — Ute siγoʔo
from O'odham
[edit]- tepary — "particular bean, Phaseolus acutifolius" — Tohono O'odham t'pawi (“it is a bean”)
from Shoshone
[edit]- kooyah (sometimes: kuya) — "(large, internally bright yellow, edible root of the) Valeriana edulis, which tastes and smells like tobacco until cooked, when it becomes sweet" (eaten by Native Americans in the Great Basin and Northwest) — Shoshone ("Snake language") kuya, kuyu (“bitterroot, Valeriana edulis”)
- pogonip — "ice fog which forms in valleys in the Western United States" — Shoshone paγinappih (“thunder cloud”) or a related word
- yamp — "umbelliferous plant (Perideridia gairdneri) which is native to California and has edible tubers" — probably from the same source as "yampa", "yampah"
- yampa (or: yampah) — "any of several plants of the genus Perideridia, especially Perideridia gairdneri, which has an edible root" — Shoshone *yampa
from Taracahitic languages
[edit]- saguaro — "large cactus in the genus Carnegiea, native to the Sonoran Desert, characterized by its arm-like protuberances" — from a Taracahitic Uto-Aztecan language, probably Mayo or Opata
from Wakashan languages
[edit]from Makah
[edit]- beshow — "the candlefish, the sablefish" — from Makah bishowk, cognate to Nootka mi·ša·wi·ḥ
from Nootka
[edit]- camas (earlier: quamash) — "North American flowering plant of the genus Camassia" — from Chinook Jargon *qamaš, qawaš, from Nootka *qawaš
- cheechako (also: cheechaco) — (see this word's listing in the section for Chinook derivations)
- hiaqua — "beads or shells (especially as placed on strings)" — Chinook Jargon hywka, hyakwa, from Nootka (compare "wampum")
- ioqua — "Dentalium pretiosum shell(s), used as money and in jewellery" — Chinook Jargon hywka, hyakwa, from Nootka (compare "wampum")
- klootch, klooch — "klootchman" (which see)
- klootchman — "wife", "woman (especially if Native American)" — (via Chinook Jargon, from) Nootka : from łuučmaa (“female”) (with English man suffixed in Chinook Jargon)
- potlatch — "gift-giving festival, in which a host housed and distributed gifts to guests, who would later reciprocate" — Chinook Jargon potlatch (“gift”), from Nootka p̕ačiƛ (“to give in ceremony”)
- potluck — some consider potluck a variant of potlatch, but potluck ("meal") is attested since 1592
- saltchuck — "any body of saltwater, especially the ocean but also any brackish lake" — from Chinook Jargon saltchuck (“saltwater, the sea”), from salt (“salt”) (from English salt) + chuck (“water”) from Nootka č̕aʔak (“water”)
Categories:
- English terms derived from Algic languages
- English terms derived from Algonquian languages
- English terms derived from Abenaki
- English terms derived from Penobscot
- English terms derived from Cree
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- English terms derived from Unami
- English terms derived from Munsee
- English terms derived from Malecite-Passamaquoddy
- English terms derived from Massachusett
- English terms derived from Narragansett
- English terms derived from Mi'kmaq
- English terms derived from Ojibwe
- English terms derived from Powhatan
- English terms derived from Caddoan languages
- English terms derived from Caddo
- English terms derived from Chinookan languages
- English terms derived from Chinook
- English terms derived from Chinook Jargon
- English terms derived from Iroquoian languages
- English terms derived from Mayan languages
- English terms derived from Q'eqchi
- English terms derived from Yucatec Maya
- English terms derived from Misumalpan languages
- English terms derived from Miskito
- English terms derived from Muskogean languages
- English terms derived from Choctaw
- English terms derived from Creek
- English terms derived from Na-Dene languages
- English terms derived from Athabaskan languages
- English terms derived from Tlingit
- English terms derived from Klamath-Modoc
- English terms derived from Purepecha
- English terms derived from Salishan languages
- English terms derived from Halkomelem
- English terms derived from Lower Chehalis
- English terms derived from Lushootseed
- English terms derived from Shuswap
- English terms derived from Siouan-Catawban languages
- English terms derived from Catawba
- English terms derived from Uto-Aztecan languages
- English terms derived from Hopi
- English terms derived from Nahuatl
- English terms derived from Ute
- English terms derived from O'odham
- English terms derived from Shoshone
- English terms derived from Taracahitic languages
- English terms derived from Mayo
- English terms derived from Opata
- English terms derived from Wakashan languages
- English terms derived from Makah
- English terms derived from Nootka
- English etymological appendices