Illinois

noun Il·li·nois \ ˌi-lə-ˈnȯi also -ˈnȯiz \

Definition of Illinois

plural Illinois

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

Origin and Etymology of illinois

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1703

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Illinois

geographical name Il·li·nois \ ˌi-lə-ˈnȯi also -ˈnȯiz \

Definition of Illinois

1 river 273 miles (439 kilometers) long in Illinois flowing southwest into the Mississippi River

2 state in the central part of the U.S. having the Mississippi River as its western boundary and bordering on Lake Michigan in the northeast; capital Springfield area 56,400 square miles (146,640 square kilometers), population 12,830,632

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