America and Indian race, Детальна інформація

Kansas from a Sioux word meaning “people of the south wind.”

Kentucky from an Iroquoian word “Ken-tah-ten” meaning “land of tomorrow.”

Massachusetts from Massachusett tribe of Native Americans, meaning “at or about the great hill.”

Michigan from Indian word “Michigana” meaning “great or large lake.”

Minnesota from a Dakota Indian word meaning “sky-tinted water.”

Mississippi from an Indian word meaning “Father of Waters.”

Malibu believed to come from the Chumash Indians.

Manhattan Algonquian, believed to mean "isolated thing in water."

Milwaukee Algonquian, believed to mean "a good spot or place."

Missouri named after the Missouri Indian tribe. “Missouri” means “town of the large canoes.”

Narragansett named after the Indian tribe

Nebraska from an Oto Indian word meaning “flat water.”

Niagara named after an Iroquoian town, "Ongiaahra."

Ohio from an Iroquoian word meaning “great river.”

Oklahoma from two Choctaw Indian words meaning “red people.”

Pensacola (Florida) Choctaw for "hair" and "people."

Roanoke (Virginia) Algonquian for "shell money" (Indian tribes often used shells that were made into beads called wampum, as money).

Saratoga (New York) believed to be Mohawk for "springs (of water) from the hillside."

Sunapee (lake in New Hampshire) Pennacook for "rocky pond."

Tahoe (the lake in California/Nevada) is Washo for "big water."

Tennessee of Cherokee origin; the exact meaning is unknown.

Texas from an Indian word meaning “friends.”

Utah is from the Ute tribe, meaning “people of the mountains.”

Wisconsin French corruption of an Indian word whose meaning is disputed.

Wyoming from the Delaware Indian word, meaning “mountains and valleys alternating”; the same as the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.

American Indian Loan Words

From their earliest contact with traders and explorers, American Indians borrowed foreign words, often to describe things not previously encountered. The language exchange went both ways. Today, thousands of place names across North America have Indian origins - as do hundreds of everyday English words.

Many of these "loan words" are nouns from the Algonquian languages that were once widespread along the Atlantic coast. English colonists, encountering unfamiliar plants and animals—among them moose, opossum, and skunk—borrowed Indian terms to name them. Pronunciations generally changed, and sometimes the newcomers shortened words they found difficult; for instance, "pocohiquara" became "hickory."

Some U.S. English Words with Indian Origins:

anorak                from the Greenlandic Inuit "annoraq"