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Seneca

1 American  
[sen-i-kuh] / ˈsɛn ɪ kə /

noun

Senecas plural
  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.


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.


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

"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

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

"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

Other Word Forms

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

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

The devotion is well-earned: Smith can quote Jefferson verbatim and cites Seneca and Enlightenment philosophers without blinking.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

She studies it daily, reading the texts of thinkers such as Seneca, Epictetus and other men better known as marble busts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

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

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

In 1862, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her family moved from Seneca Falls to New York City when her husband took a job there.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

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