Seneca

¹ American  

[sen-i-kuh] / ˈsɛn ɪ kə /

noun

plural

Senecas,

plural

Seneca

1. a member of the largest tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy of North American Indians, formerly inhabiting western New York and being conspicuous in the wars south and west of Lake Erie.

2. an Iroquoian language of the Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga tribes.

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Seneca ² American  

[sen-i-kuh] / ˈsɛn ɪ kə /

noun

1. Lucius Annaeus c4 b.c.–a.d. 65, Roman philosopher and writer of tragedies.

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Seneca ¹ British  

/ ˈsɛnɪkə /

noun

1. a member of a North American Indian people formerly living south of Lake Ontario; one of the Iroquois peoples

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

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Seneca ² British  

/ ˈsɛnɪkə /

noun

1. Lucius Annaeus (əˈniːəs), called the Younger. ?4 _bc –65 _ad , Roman philosopher, statesman, and dramatist; tutor and adviser to Nero. He was implicated in a plot to murder Nero and committed suicide. His works include Stoical essays on ethical subjects and tragedies that had a considerable influence on Elizabethan drama

2. his father, Marcus (ˈmɑːkəs) or Lucius Annaeus, called the Elder or the Rhetorician. ?55 _bc –?39 _ad , Roman writer on oratory and history

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Other Word Forms

• Senecan adjective

Etymology

Origin of Seneca

From the New York Dutch word Sennecaas, etc., originally applied to the Oneida and, more generally, to all the Upper Iroquois (as opposed to the Mohawk), probably < an unattested Mahican name

Example Sentences

Gunther joined Air Canada after graduating from Seneca, which said flags at the campus would be lowered to half-mast on Tuesday.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Jane, a Seneca woman, is influenced by tribal teachings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

The crash occurred at 11:09 a.m. at the intersection of Seneca and El Evado roads, according to an X post by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2025

Writing in a letter to his friend Lucilius around AD62, the Roman philosopher Seneca outlined two arguments for vegetarianism.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2024

The Seneca people gave him a name in their language to describe what he was doing: Conotocarious.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz