Massasoit

American

[mas-uh-soit] / ˈmæs əˌsɔɪt /

noun

c1580–1661, North American Indian leader: sachem of the Wampanoag tribe; negotiator of peace treaty with the Pilgrims 1621 (father of King Philip).

Massasoit British

/ ˈmæsəˌsɔɪt /

noun

died 1661, Wampanoag Indian chief, who negotiated peace with the Pilgrim Fathers (1621)

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ousamequin, often referred to as Massasoit, which is his title and means “great sachem,” faced a nearly impossible situation, historians and educators said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 4, 2021

Many pages are devoted to imagining the details of a discussion between Roger Williams and the Wampanoag Massasoit.

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2021

Some historians have suggested that Massasoit helped the Pilgrims, not of out kindness, but necessity.

From Washington Times • Sep. 22, 2020

Ousamequin, the Massasoit, arrived with perhaps ninety men—more than the entire population of Plymouth.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 18, 2019

The alliance Massasoit negotiated with Plymouth was successful from the Wampanoag perspective, for it helped to hold off the Narragansett.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023