Siouan

[ soo-uhn ]

noun

1. an American Indian language family formerly widespread from Saskatchewan to the lower Mississippi, also found in the Virginia and Carolina piedmont, and including Catawba, Crow, Dakota, Hidatsa, Mandan, Osage, and Winnebago.
2. a member of one of the Siouan-speaking peoples.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Sioux or the Siouan languages.

Siouan

/ ˈsuːən /

noun

1. a family of North American Indian languages including Sioux, probably related to Iroquoian

adjective

1. of or relating to the Sioux peoples or languages

Word History and Origins

Origin of Siouan¹

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; Sioux + -an

Example Sentences

The great Siouan race occupied nearly all the upper valley of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries.

From Project Gutenberg

At one Siouan village, "the first Puff blew down all the Palisadoes that fortified the town."

From Project Gutenberg

Contrary to the popular opinion of the present day, the general trend of Siouan migration has been westward.

From Project Gutenberg

In comparatively late prehistoric times, probably most of the Siouan tribes dwelt east of the Mississippi River.

From Project Gutenberg

Once more the Mississippi became the eastern boundary, but in this case separating the Siouan from the Muskhogean territory.

From Project Gutenberg