Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

Abenaki

noun Abe·na·ki \ ˌa-bə-ˈnä-kē \
variants: or less commonly play \ab-ˈnä-kē\

Definition of Abenaki

plural Abenaki or Abenakis also Abnaki or Abnakis
1 :a member of a group of American Indian peoples of northern New England and adjoining parts of Quebec
2 :either of the two Algonquian languages spoken by the Abenaki peoples

Read the Latest from M-W

knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz
alt-59e60c9d3e5ea
Trending: McCain: Half-Baked, 'Spurious' Nationalism
alt-59e77dc36c593
The Origins of 'Lobbyist'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Origin and Etymology of abenaki

Eastern Abenaki wαpánahki, Western Abenaki wǫbanakii, literally, dawn land people, easterners

Learn More about abenaki

  1. Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Abenaki

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up Abenaki? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

malign

play

to speak evil of

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. spurious of a deceitful nature or quality

  2. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  3. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  4. mike "microphone"

  5. moron “a very stupid person”

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59e77dc36c593
The Origins of 'Lobbyist'

From the front hallways to the back rooms

alt-59e673567065d
The History of the Word 'Terrorism'

Noah Webster first entered the term in 1840

alt-59e65152518a6
'Regimen' vs. 'Regiment'

The rule of thumb for words about rules

alt-59e50f5a357b4
'Spox' May Go On The Record

From newsroom lingo to the mainstream

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
rembrandt-painting-a-young-scholar-and-his-tutor
Original Meanings Quiz

A quiz for the pedantic and those annoyed by them!

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game