Potawatomi

[ pot-uh-wot-uh-mee ]

noun

, plural Pot·a·wat·o·mis, (especially collectively) Pot·a·wat·o·mi.

1. Also called Bod·e·wad·mi [bod-, uh, -, wod, -mee]. a member of an Algonquian people originally of Michigan and Wisconsin.
2. Also called Bod·e·wad·mim·wen [bod-, uh, -, wod, -mim-wen]. the Algonquian language of the Potawatomi, closely related to Ojibwe.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Potawatomi or their language.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Potawatomi¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; from French Poutouatami, Pouteouatami, from Ojibwe po·te·wa·tami· “those who tend the hearth fire” (of the Council of Three Fires)

Example Sentences

Many students are surprised to learn that Chicago — or Zhegagoynak in the Potawatomi language — has an Indigenous history, not to mention present.

From Washington Post

His crime, based on his marriage to a Potawatomi woman, was deemed “intercourse with the enemy.”

From Washington Post

For the early habitat of the Potawatomi, consult Croghan's Journals, in our volume i, p. 115 note 84.

From Project Gutenberg

The Potawatomi's powerful two-handed grip tore the pistol from his fingers.

From Project Gutenberg

But we'll have a band of Potawatomi scouts led by one of their chiefs, Billy Caldwell, to guide us.

From Project Gutenberg

I can handle the language of the Algonquin like a native, being part Potawatomi myself.

From Project Gutenberg

The Potawatomi women were inclined to greasiness and obesity.

From Project Gutenberg