Pomo

See also: pomo and pómo

English

Etymology

Used in English since 1877, Pomo derives from the Pomo language words /pʰoːmoː/ and /pʰoʔmaʔ/, meaning "those who live at red earth hole". It was once the name of a village in Southern Potter Valley, possibly referring to the red mineral magnesite used for beads, or to the reddish earth and clay such as hematite mined in the area. At the same time in the Northern Pomo dialect, -pomo or -poma was used as a suffix after the names of places for subgroups of people of that place.

Noun

Pomo pl (plural only)

1. An indigenous population native to Northern California.

   Synonym: Cainameros

Proper noun

Pomo

1. The family of languages of this people.

   Synonym: Kulanapan

Derived terms

• Pomoan

References

• (etymology) Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 379 n.68
• (etymology) McClendon, Sally and Oswalt, Robert. 1978. Pomo: Introduction, in Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 8 (California). William C. Sturtevant, and Robert F. Heizer, eds. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978. →ISBN / 0160045754, pages 277.