Chiricahua

American  

[chir-i-kah-wuh] / ˌtʃɪr ɪˈkɑ wə /

noun

plural

Chiricahuas,

plural

Chiricahua

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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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

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

El Patron had to stay in bed until he felt well enough to travel to his other house in the Chiricahua Mountains.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer