Menominee

noun

Me·​nom·​i·​nee mə-ˈnä-mə-nē How to pronounce Menominee (audio)
variants or less commonly Menomini
1
plural Menominee or Menominees also Menomini or Menominis : a member of an Indigenous people of northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula
2
: the Algonquian language of the Menominee people

Examples of Menominee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Blizzard warnings have been issued for Marathon, Langlade, Lincoln, Menominee, Shawano, and Southern Oconto counties. John Diedrich, jsonline.com, 14 Mar. 2026 Mike Snyder, health officer for Delta and Menominee counties, said the additional financial support will offer stability to expectant mothers, young families and the broader community. Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 2 Mar. 2026 Wilsey is from Menominee, Michigan, and studied at Post University, a private for-profit college in Connecticut, according to her Facebook page. Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Ojibwa mano·mini· (manoominii), literally, "wild rice people," derivative of mano·min (manoomin) "wild rice"

Note: According to the Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 15, Northeast (Smithsonian Institution, 1978), p. 723, "the Menominee name for themselves, omɛ·ʔnomene·w is of obscure etymology but is clearly not derived from their word mano·meh 'wild rice'."

First Known Use

1722, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Menominee was in 1722

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Cite this Entry

“Menominee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Menominee. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

Geographical Definition

Menominee

geographical name

Me·​nom·​i·​nee mə-ˈnä-mə-nē How to pronounce Menominee (audio)
river 125 miles (201 kilometers) long in northeastern Wisconsin flowing southeast on the Michigan–Wisconsin border into Green Bay

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