Choctaw
[chok-taw]
- a member of a large Muskhogean tribe of North American Indians, formerly living chiefly in southern Mississippi, now in Oklahoma.
- the language of the Choctaw, closely related to Chickasaw.
- something unintelligible, as speech, illegible handwriting, or an ineffectual explanation; gibberish: My best efforts at clarity were Choctaw to him.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for choctaw
Historical Examples
But in the Choctaw language, syllables often end with consonants.
History, Manners, and Customs of the North American IndiansGeorge Mogridge
Some of the leading pioneers of the Choctaw nation were buried here.
The Choctaw FreedmenRobert Elliott Flickinger
A contretemps less likely to occur at the Choctaw Chief, and there stayed they.
The Death ShotMayne Reid
The drinking “saloon” of the Choctaw Chief is quite emptied of its guests.
The Death ShotMayne Reid
It is my conviction that Shakespeare's sailor-talk would be Choctaw to him.
What Is Man? And Other StoriesMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
choctaw
- skating a turn from the inside edge of one skate to the outside edge of the other or vice versa
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Word Origin
C19: after Choctaw
Choctaw
- plural -taws or -taw a member of a Native American people of Alabama
- the language of this people, belonging to the Muskogean family
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Word Origin
C18: from Choctaw Chahta
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
Word Origin and History for choctaw
Choctaw
1722, from Choctaw Chahta, of uncertain meaning, but also said to be from Spanish chato "flattened," for the tribe's custom of flattening the heads of male infants. As a figure skating step, first recorded 1892. Sometimes used in 19c. American English as typical of a difficult or incomprehensible language (cf. Greek in this sense from c.1600).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper