Chipewyan

noun Chip·e·wy·an

variants: or Chippewaian or Chippewyan \ˌchipəˈwīən\

Definition of Chipewyan

plural Chipewyan or Chipewyans or Chippewaian or Chippewaians or Chippewyan or Chippewyans

1 a :an Athapaskan people closely related to the Slave and Yellowknife people and living north of the Churchill river between the Great Slave lake and the Slave and Athabaska rivers on the west and Hudson Bay on the east

b :a member of such people

2 :the language of the Chipewyan people

There's more!

Love words? You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
Advanced search features
Ad free!

Origin and Etymology of chipewyan

Cree Chipwayanawok, literally, pointed skins, from chipwa pointed + weyanaw skin + -ok (suffix denoting plural); from their pointed skin shirts or parkas