Kiowa

American  

[kahy-uh-wuh, -wah, -wey] / ˈkaɪ ə wə, -ˌwɑ, -ˌweɪ /

noun

plural

Kiowas,

plural

Kiowa

1. a member of an Indigenous Great Plains tribe, now living primarily in Oklahoma.

2. the language of the Kiowa, closely related to Tanoan.

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adjective

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

Etymology

Origin of Kiowa

First recorded in 1800–10; from Kiowa kɔjgwu “principal people”

Example Sentences

The tree sat on the Kiowa Ranch, a property that noted arts patron Mabel Dodge Luhan had given to Frieda Lawrence, wife of the British writer D.H.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

M. Scott Momaday, in his essay “The Way to Rainy Mountain,” describes his Kiowa grandmother, who “bore an image of deicide.”

From Salon • Sep. 1, 2024

He was born Navarre Scott Mammedaty, in Lawton, Oklahoma, and was a member of the Kiowa Nation.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 29, 2024

In 2013, she did meet her birth mother, Ooh Wah Nah Chasing Bear, a member of the Kiowa Apache tribe, and her brother, Eric.

From New York Times • Oct. 20, 2022

Nation began her crusade at the age of fifty-three, when she loaded up a buggy with hammers and rocks and drove to Kiowa, Kansas, a town notorious for its wild behavior in its many saloons.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler