Main Entry: Il·li·nois

Pronunciation: \ˌi-lə-ˈnȯi also -ˈnȯiz\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural Illinois

Etymology: French, earlier Eriniouai, singular, probably from a word in an Algonquian language derived from Proto-Algonquian *elen- ordinary + *-we· make a sound

Date: 1703

1 plural : a confederacy of American Indian peoples of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin
2 : a member of any of the Illinois peoples
3 : the Algonquian language of the Illinois