Chiricahua

American  

[chir-i-kah-wuh] / ˌtʃɪr ɪˈkɑ wə /

noun

• Chiricahuas,
  plural
• Chiricahua
  plural

1. a member of an Apache group that comprises several Apache bands, formerly located in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, now living primarily in Oklahoma and New Mexico.

2. the Athabascan language of the Chiricahua, differing only dialectically from Navaho.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Chiricahua
  plural
• Chiricahuas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Chiricahua

First recorded in 1885–90; via Spanish from Opata (extinct Uto-Aztecan language of Sonora) Chihuicahui or Chiguicagui “Mountain of the Wild Turkey” (now the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Chiricahua Chiricahuas

Moffett, who studies the social behavior of ants and other animals, noticed the interaction while visiting a research station in Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 14, 2026

The family is Chiricahua Apache, and Oak Flat, or Chi’chil Bildagoteel, is a consecrated place used for prayer and ritual by them and many other Native American peoples in the region.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023

Another, named Sombra, however, was spotted in Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains later that year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2023

Posted outside Cave Creek Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains, about 150 miles southeast of Tucson, a schedule of the expected arrival dates of migrating and seasonal birds anticipated the elegant trogon on April 6.

From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2021

They would whisk along the long, shimmering highway to El Patrons other house in the Chiricahua Mountains.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

Colonel Evans felt badly enough, but his caprice for a chat with Tah-nu-nu had prevented the superstitious Chiricahuas from entirely avoiding the "bad medicine" of Kah-go-mish.

From The Red Mustang by William O. Stoddard

A first long shaft of sunlight shot through a pass in the Chiricahuas, trembled in the dust-moted air, and laid its warmth on the rawhide.

From Arizona Nights by Stewart Edward White

The American forces were constantly embroiled with the Chiricahuas.

From The Career of Leonard Wood by Joseph Hamblen Sears

She drew her breath very hard and glanced at the Chiricahuas as she and the colonel rode past a rugged patch of craggy forest.

From The Red Mustang by William O. Stoddard

They asked no questions and had refused to answer any, but they now and then exchanged a few words in their own tongue when the Chiricahuas were out of hearing.

From The Red Mustang by William O. Stoddard