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Nez Percé

[nez purs; French ney per-sey]
noun, plural Nez Per·cés [nez pur-siz; French ney per-sey] /ˈnɛz ˈpɜr sɪz; French neɪ pɛrˈseɪ/, (especially collectively) Nez Per·cé for 1.
  1. a member of a North American Indian people of the Sahaptin family.
  2. the Sahaptin language of the Nez Percé.
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Origin of Nez Percé

1805–15; < French: literally, pierced nose
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nez perce

Historical Examples

  • He had escaped fire and smoke, or he would not have been here on Arkansa with his old grizzled Nez-perce steed.

    In the Old West

    George Frederick Ruxton

British Dictionary definitions for nez perce

Nez Percé

noun
  1. plural Nez Percés (ˈpɜːsɪz, French pɛrse) or Nez Percé a member of a North American Indian people of the Pacific coast, a tribe of the Sahaptin
  2. the Sahaptin language of this people
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Word Origin

French, literally: pierced nose
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 nez perce

Nez Perce

native people of Idaho and vicinity, and their language, from French Nez Percé, literally "pierced nose." In reference to an early custom of the people of wearing shell ornaments in pierced septums.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper