Abenaki

American  

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

noun

Abenakis, plural Abenaki plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Abenaki
  plural
• Abenakis
  plural

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

Mr. Stevens said that the Abenaki people view themselves as “stewards of the land.”

From Washington Times • Jul. 9, 2023

Her win follows changes to the organization’s policies, including the acknowledgment that the residency program takes place on First Nations land, home of the Western Abenaki people.

From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2023

Michelle O’Bonsawin, an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation and a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, is set to fill the vacancy on the nation’s highest bench after a parliamentary hearing.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 19, 2022

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

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