Mahican

[ muh-hee-kuhn ]

noun

, plural Ma·hi·cans, (especially collectively) Ma·hi·can

1. a tribe or confederacy of North American Indians of the Algonquian family, centralized formerly in the upper Hudson valley.
2. a member of this tribe or confederacy.
3. the extinct Algonquian language of the Mahican Indians.

Mahican

/ məˈhiːkən /

noun

1. See Mohican
   a variant of Mohican

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mahican¹

First recorded in 1605–15; self-designation of the Mahican people; literally, “person (people) of the tidal estuary (of the Hudson River)”; cognate with Munsee Delaware ma·hí·kan; compare -a·hi·kan in kihta·hí·kan “ocean,” with kiht- “great”); the spelling variant Mohican was popularized by James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans (1826)

Example Sentences

An old Mahican settlement known as Potick was located a little back from the river.

From Project Gutenberg

The Mahican Village at the mouth of the creek was called Nappechemak.

From Project Gutenberg