Shoshonean

[ shoh-shoh-nee-uhn, shoh-shuh-nee-uhn ]

/ ʃoʊˈʃoʊ ni ən, ˌʃoʊ ʃəˈni ən /

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noun, plural Sho·sho·ne·ans, (especially collectively) Sho·sho·ne·an for 2.

(in some, especially earlier, classifications) a grouping of four branches of the Uto-Aztecan language family including Numic, Hopi, and several languages of southern California.

a member of a group speaking a Shoshonean language.

adjective

of or relating to the Shoshonean-speaking peoples or their languages.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of Shoshonean

First recorded in 1890–95; Shoshone + -an

Words nearby Shoshonean

shortweight, short-winded, shorty, Shosholoza, Shoshone, Shoshonean, Shoshone Cavern, Shoshone Dam, Shoshone Falls, Shoshoni, Shostakovich

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Shoshonean in a sentence

They were surrounded on all sides by the cognate Apache except upon the north, where they meet Shoshonean tribes.
Indian Linguistic Families Of America, North Of Mexico|John Wesley Powell
Upon the northeast the eastern limits of the pristine habitat of the Shoshonean tribes are unknown.
Indian Linguistic Families Of America, North Of Mexico|John Wesley Powell
Upon the south Shoshonean territory was limited generally by the Colorado River.
Indian Linguistic Families Of America, North Of Mexico|John Wesley Powell
In the southwest Shoshonean tribes had pushed across California, occupying a wide band of country to the Pacific.
Indian Linguistic Families Of America, North Of Mexico|John Wesley Powell

Very likely much of the area occupied by the Atsina was formerly Shoshonean territory.
Indian Linguistic Families Of America, North Of Mexico|John Wesley Powell

British Dictionary definitions for Shoshonean

Shoshonean

Shoshonian

/ (ʃəʊˈʃəʊnɪən, ˌʃəʊʃəˈniːən) /

noun

a subfamily of North American Indian languages belonging to the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken mainly in the southwestern US

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