Choctaw

American  

[chok-taw] / ˈtʃɒk tɔ /

noun

plural

Choctaws,

plural

Choctaw

1. a member of a large Muskhogean tribe of North American Indians, formerly living chiefly in southern Mississippi, now in Oklahoma.

2. the language of the Choctaw, closely related to Chickasaw.

3. Informal: Offensive. something unintelligible, as speech, illegible handwriting, or an ineffectual explanation; gibberish.

   My best efforts at clarity were Choctaw to him.

4. Figure Skating. choctaw, a type of turn that changes the skater’s orientation in either direction, from skating forward to backward or backward to forward, with a change of foot from right to left or left to right, and a change of edge from outside to inside or inside to outside.

   The quickstep compulsory dance requires a choctaw from the forward outside edge of the skating foot to the backward inside edge of the other foot.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Choctaw or their language.

Choctaw ¹ British  

/ ˈtʃɒktɔː /

noun

1. a member of a Native American people of Alabama

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Muskogean family

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choctaw ² British  

/ ˈtʃɒktɔː /

noun

1. skating a turn from the inside edge of one skate to the outside edge of the other or vice versa

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Etymology

Origin of Choctaw

First recorded in 1720–30; from Choctaw chahta, a self-designation of unknown meaning

Example Sentences

Titled “the space in which to place me,” the show is a mini-survey of the rapturous art of the queer Choctaw and Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson.

From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2024

Seattle’s queer and Native American communities are mourning the death of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teen of Choctaw descent who died a day after an altercation inside an Oklahoma high school bathroomlast month.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2024

The Benedict family, who have roots in the Choctaw Nation, welcomed discussions and questions of gender and identity, the Independent reported.

From Salon • Feb. 22, 2024

But members of the Choctaw Nation understood that the series was aiming to tell a deeply human story, and Freeland says they have been “amazing partners and collaborators along the way.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2024

In Choctaw lore, for example, the Creator breathed life into not one but many primeval pairs of human beings scattered all over the earth.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann