Indian Influence & Contributions: Indian Words

taken in its entirety at request of website: http://www.nativecircle.com/iicindianwords.html

for most people, english is the language you use every day. but did you know that words which contain one syllable are the only original english or anglo-saxon words? all of the rest of the words you use have come from other tongues, including american indian languages. indian words for animals were adopted into the english language when europeans first came to america. they had never seen many of the animals and didn’t have names for them. therefore, they adopted american indian names like moose, caribou, raccoon, opossum, chipmunk, chigger, cougar, and jaguar. explorers and english-speaking settlers also adopted indian words for plants and trees that were new to them: tobacco, tomato, potato, hickory, pecan, mahogany, maize (corn), squash, avocado, papaya and tapioca are are just some examples. all of these names were adopted from different indian nations and different american indian languages. 'okay' and 'blizzard' originated with indians, as did the word 'yankee' (which meant english snake). indian geographical names are even more noticeable. alabama, mississippi, texas and arizona were named by indians. some names reflect the tribes which lived in the area, such as the dakota, illini, kansa and massachuset. in fact, 27 of the 50 states get their names from indian languages. and over 67% of all street and city names are indian related! other names describe the land. 'minnesota' is dakota for "waters that reflect the sky," 'michigan' is an ojibwe word for "great water," and 'nebraska' means "flat water" in the omaha language. chicago is derived from an indian word for wild onions.

many 'english' words are actually indian words

canoe totem pow-wow sachem

potato raccoon wapiti coyote

massagua potlatch pumpkin tomato

chinquapin chipmunk hurricane aztec

succotash tupelo pecan muskelunge

persimmonmoccasin mugwump tom-tom muskeg

papoose cayuse maize sagamore

moose indigo quinine mohave

skunk chinook llama ocelot

opossum aleut bison banana

caribouhogan woodchuck wampum pone

toboggan kinni-kinnick skunk igloo

yankee umiak tamarack barbecue

catalpa mesquite cannibal squirrell

condor puccoon squash skunk

conestogohammock manitou pemmican winnebago

homing tamale kyak

paw-paw teton tomahawk

wigwam chinookan cocoa

terrapin aleutian sequoia

stogie tipi

punk thousands more!

27 state names are indian words

alaska............................. great land

alabama.......................... thicket clearers

arizona............................ silver slabs

arkansas......................... down stream people

connecticut.................... upon the long river

idaho............................... sunrise, it is morning

illinois.............................. men or great men

indiana............................ land of the indians

iowa................................ drowsy people

kansas............................ people of the south wind

kentucky......................... hunting ground

dakota............................. related people, allies

oregon............................. beautiful water

massachusetts................ great hill

michigan.......................... great water

mississippi....................... father of water

missouri........................... long canoe people

minnesota........................ sky tinted water

nebraska......................... flat water

new mexico..................... aztec god mexitili

ohio................................. beautiful valley

oklahoma......................... land of the red man

texas............................... tejas - allies or friends

tennessee....................... from chief tannassie

utah................................. those who dwell high up

wisconsin......................... where waters gather

wyoming........................... great plain

written by john two-hawks