Algonquin

[ al-gong-kin, -kwin ]

/ ælˈgɒŋ kɪn, -kwɪn /

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noun, plural Al·gon·quins, (especially collectively) Al·gon·quin for 1, 3.

a member of a group of North American Indian tribes formerly along the Ottawa River and the northern tributaries of the St. Lawrence River.

their speech, a dialect of Ojibwe, of the Algonquian family of languages.

Algonquian.

adjective

Algonquian.

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Also Algonkin.

Origin of Algonquin

First recorded in 1615–25; from French; earlier Algoumequin, presumably from an Algonquian language

Words nearby Algonquin

algology, algometer, Algonkian, Algonkin, Algonquian, Algonquin, Algonquin Park, algophagous, algophobia, algor, algorism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Algonquin in a sentence

This one, dubbed the Buck Moon by Algonquin tribes from the northeastern United States, was so named for the time when adolescent deer sprout velvety new antlers in the summer.
Raging wildfires will give this weekend’s full moon an eery orange hue|Monroe Hammond|July 22, 2021|Popular-Science
It took 30 years for Cindy Beauchamp to get the details of her in-laws’ corn bread recipe, a Delmarva staple that draws on northern, southern, and Algonquin traditions and is denser and sweeter than most southern corn breads.
How to Eat Delmarvelously|jversteegh|July 8, 2021|Outside Online
The full moon that marks this season was originally named by the indigenous Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota peoples, among others, that lived on these lands to honor the harvest of the sweet fruit, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.
The Strawberry Moon, explained|Erin Fennessy|June 23, 2021|Popular-Science
Even after Salinger had decamped to Cornish, he loved to lunch with William Shawn and Lillian Ross at the Algonquin in New York.
15 Revelations from New J.D. Salinger Biography|Andrew Romano|September 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Dorothy Parker smoke, drank, and slept around—in short, everything her male colleagues in the Algonquin Round Table were doing.
Top 10 Misbehaving Literary Rogues|Andrew Shaffer|February 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As one Democratic policy consultant puts it, “They are as ancient as Gertrude Stein in Paris or the Algonquin in New York.”
President Obama’s Hill Challenge in Avoiding Fiscal Cliff|James Warren|November 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Her first book, a memoir of her two years working at a boarding school in Jordan, will be published by Algonquin Books in 2011.
Revolt in the Middle East: Is Jordan Next?|Rebecca Davis O'Brien|January 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST
I had asked him back on that winter day while we were warming ourselves with tea at the Algonquin if he was in love.
Daniel Radcliffe, Dark Prince|Kevin Sessums|July 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The term Abenakie, is one manifestly imposed by Algonquin tribes living west and south of them.
The Indian in his Wigwam|Henry R. Schoolcraft
It is true that many of the grammatical principles of the Algonquin languages, are also developed in other stocks.
The Indian in his Wigwam|Henry R. Schoolcraft
The term Lenpe, signifies a male, and is identical in sense with the Algonquin word Iba.
The Indian in his Wigwam|Henry R. Schoolcraft
I allude to the institution of the Totem, which has been well known among the Algonquin tribes from the settlement of Canada.
The Indian in his Wigwam|Henry R. Schoolcraft
This ever after made them hate the French as cordially as they did their lifelong enemies, the Algonquin Indians.
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies|H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber

British Dictionary definitions for Algonquin

Algonquin

Algonkin (ælˈɡɒŋkɪn)

/ (ælˈɡɒŋkɪn, -kwɪn) /

noun

plural -quins, -quin, -kins or -kin a member of a North American Indian people formerly living along the St Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers in Canada

the language of this people, a dialect of Ojibwa

noun, adjective

a variant of Algonquian

Word Origin for Algonquin

C17: from Canadian French, earlier written as Algoumequin; perhaps related to Micmac algoomaking at the fish-spearing place

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012