Algonquian

American  

[al-gong-kee-uhn, -kwee-uhn] / ælˈgɒŋ ki ən, -kwi ən /

noun

Algonquians plural

1. a family of languages spoken now or formerly by North American Indians in an area extending from Labrador westward to the Rocky Mountains, west-southwestward through Michigan and Illinois, and southwestward along the Atlantic coast to Cape Hatteras, including especially Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Cree, Fox, Massachusett, Mi'kmaq, Ojibwe, and Powhatan.

2. a member of an Algonquian-speaking tribe.

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adjective

1. of or relating to Algonquian or its speakers.

Algonquian British  

/ -kwɪ-, ælˈɡɒŋkɪən /

noun

1. a family of North American Indian languages whose speakers ranged over an area stretching from the Atlantic between Newfoundland and Delaware to the Rocky Mountains, including Micmac, Mahican, Ojibwa, Fox, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, and Shawnee. Some linguists relate it to Muskogean in a Macro-Algonquian phylum

2. a member of any of the North American Indian peoples that speak one of these languages

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adjective

1. denoting, belonging to, or relating to this linguistic family or its speakers

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Algonquian
  plural
• Algonquians
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Algonquian

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; Algonqui(n) + -an