Abenaki

American  

[uh-ben-uh-kee, ab-uh-nak-ee, ah-buh-nah-kee] / əˈbɛn ə ki, ˌæb əˈnæk i, ˌɑ bəˈnɑ ki /

noun

plural

Abenakis,

plural

Abenaki

1. a member of a grouping of Indigenous peoples of southern Quebec, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and parts of northern Massachusetts.

2. any of the Eastern Algonquian languages of the Abenaki peoples.

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adjective

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

Etymology

Origin of Abenaki

First recorded in 1690–1700; from French Abenaqui, Abenaki, from Eastern Abenaki ( Penobscot ) wapánahki or Western Abenaki wɔ̃banakii, literally, “people of the dawn land, easterners,” a self-designation

Example Sentences

Museum officials have consulted on the project with the leaders of the four bands of the state-recognized Abenaki tribes in Vermont.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 29, 2023

Obomsawin, 90, a member of the Abenaki Nation, is the first female filmmaker to win the prize.

From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2023

Earl Hatley, a member of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, is one of the Indigenous activists frustrated with the Biden administration.

From Scientific American • Apr. 19, 2022

Tribes that have practiced the art form include some Algonquin peoples of the Great Lakes parts of Canada and the United States, Ojibwe, Pottawatomi, Abenaki, Odawa, Chippewa and some groups of Cree.

From Washington Post • Aug. 30, 2021

On Verrazzano’s next stop, the Maine coast, the Abenaki did want steel and cloth—demanded them, in fact.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann