Words From the First Americans: Algonquian English
Instructions: Dozens of words in everyday English were borrowed from Native American languages centuries ago — and you probably use them without ever knowing it.
- 1.
Which everyday English word for soft leather footwear was borrowed from the Powhatan language of Virginia?
AMoccasinBSlipperCLoaferDSandal - 2.
The word "wigwam" — a dome-shaped Native American dwelling — was borrowed from which Algonquian language?
APowhatanBAbenakiCOjibweDNarragansett - 3.
Which large North American animal gets its English name from the Eastern Abenaki word "moz," meaning "he strips bark"?
ABisonBCaribouCMooseDElk - 4.
The Narragansett word "askutasquash" gave English the vegetable name "squash." What did that original word roughly mean?
ACooked in fireBRound and greenCBitter melonDEaten raw or uncooked - 5.
"Raccoon" was borrowed into English from the language of which Algonquian-speaking people?
APowhatanBAbenakiCOjibweDMi'kmaq - 6.
Which small striped woodland creature gets its English name from the Ojibwe word "ajidamoo"?
AWoodchuckBChipmunkCOpossumDVole - 7.
The Massachusett word "wampumpeag," shortened to "wampum" in English, originally meant what?
ASacred offeringBChief's treasureCWhite string of beadsDCounting stones - 8.
A "tomahawk" is a light axe associated with many Native American peoples. From which Algonquian language did English borrow this word?
AAbenakiBOjibweCNarragansettDPowhatan - 9.
The nut we call a "pecan" gets its English name from which Algonquian language?
AIllinois or MiamiBPowhatanCAbenakiDNarragansett - 10.
The sweet orange autumn fruit we call a "persimmon" was named by which Algonquian-speaking people?
AAbenakiBPowhatanCMi'kmaqDOjibwe - 11.
Which winter sled gets its English name from a Canadian Algonquian language, passed into English through French?
ADogsledBSkisCTobogganDSleigh - 12.
The North American name for reindeer — "caribou" — comes from the language of which people?
AAbenakiBPowhatanCOjibweDMi'kmaq - 13.
The hardwood tree we call "hickory" has a name that started as a Powhatan word. What did that original word refer to?
AHard black woodBA milky oil or drink made from pounded nutsCWood used for arrow shaftsDA food stored for winter - 14.
The Abenaki word "segankw" gave English the name for which animal?
ASkunkBRaccoonCOpossumDWoodchuck - 15.
All the Algonquian loanwords in English entered mainly through early colonial contact. In which part of North America did Algonquian-speaking peoples primarily live?
AThe Southwest deserts and Rocky MountainsBThe Pacific Northwest coastCThe Eastern Woodlands and Great Lakes regionsDThe Great Plains and central grasslands
Answer Key
"Moccasin" comes from the Powhatan word "mockassin," first recorded by English colonists in early-17th-century Virginia who learned it from the people who made and wore them.
"Wigwam" derives from the Abenaki word "wikuwam," meaning "their dwelling," which English colonists adopted through contact with peoples in New England.
"Moose" comes from the Eastern Abenaki word "moz," a reference to the animal's habit of stripping bark from trees to eat, adopted into English by colonists in the 1600s.
"Askutasquash" in the Narragansett language of present-day Rhode Island meant something like "eaten raw or uncooked," and English colonists shortened it to "squash."
"Raccoon" derives from the Powhatan word "aroughcun," recorded by English colonists in early-17th-century Virginia when they encountered the masked, ring-tailed animal.
"Chipmunk" derives from the Ojibwe word "ajidamoo," often translated as "red squirrel," adopted into English as settlers spread through the Great Lakes region.
"Wampumpeag" in the Massachusett language meant "white string of beads," referring to beads crafted from white whelk shells that were widely used in trade and ceremony across the Northeast.
"Tomahawk" comes from the Powhatan word "tamahak," a term for a light hatchet, first recorded in English writings from early colonial Virginia in the 1600s.
"Pecan" comes from the Illinois or Miami language word "pakani," a term for any nut too hard to crack by hand, brought into English through French traders in the Mississippi River valley.
"Persimmon" comes from the Powhatan word "putchamin," first recorded by English colonists in Virginia in the 1600s who encountered the bright orange fruit growing in the wild.
"Toboggan" entered English via Canadian French from a Canadian Algonquian language, referring to the flat-bottomed sled Indigenous peoples used to haul loads across snow and ice.
"Caribou" comes from the Mi'kmaq word "xalibu," referring to the animal's habit of pawing through snow to find food, adopted into English through Canadian French contact.
"Hickory" is shortened from the Powhatan word "pawcohiccora," which referred to a rich oily food or drink made from pounded hickory nuts, first recorded in early Virginia colonial writings.
"Skunk" derives from the Abenaki word "segankw," adopted by English colonists in New England who had no European name for this distinctly North American black-and-white animal.
The Algonquian language family was spoken across the Eastern Woodlands and Great Lakes regions — from the Atlantic coast to the Great Plains fringe — which is why English colonists encountered so many of these words beginning in the 1600s.