Potawatomi

noun

Pot·​a·​wat·​o·​mi ˌpä-tə-ˈwä-tə-mē How to pronounce Potawatomi (audio)
variants or less commonly Potawatami or Pottawattomi or Pottawattami
1
plural Potawatomi or Potawatomis also Potawatami or Potawatamis or Pottawattomi or Pottawattomis or Pottawattami or Pottawattamis : a member of an Indigenous people originally of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and adjoining states
2
: the Algonquian language of the Potawatomi people

Examples of Potawatomi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Other names for October’s full moon across various indigenous peoples include the moon of the first frost from the Potawatomi nation, time when the corn is taken in from the Apache tribe or falling leaves moon from the Anishinaabe people. Gina Park and Ashley Strickland, CNN, 16 Oct. 2024 That includes the third annual Indigenous Business Conference, which is being held Monday and Tuesday at the Potawatomi Casino Hotel. Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2024 Much of the land was already occupied by several Native American peoples, including members of the Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Ojibwe and Menomonie tribes. Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2024 Opening Ceremonies Parade led by Kalamazoo Pipe Band begins, then Southern Straight, a group of more than 20 Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Odawa and Chippewa drummers and singers, leads a community round dance. Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 12 Sep. 2024 City planners laid out Gary’s grid atop the marshes where the rich men of Chicago once spent their weekends hunting and tramping around Calumet, and where the Potawatomi and Miami people lived for 12,000 years before them. Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024 The Indian Removal Act in 1830 eventually drove all tribes in the region west of the Mississippi, including the Potawatomi. Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Ojibwa po·te·wa·tami· (boodewaadamii), corresponding to the Potawatomi self-designation potewatmi, of uncertain origin

Note: According to the Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 15, Northeast (Smithsonian Institution, 1978), p. 741: "This word is an unanalyzable name with no known literal meaning, and the commonly cited translation 'people of the place of the fire' is merely a folk etymology (Goddard 1972:131 [Ives Goddard, "Historical and Philological Evidence regarding the Identification of the Mascouten," Ethnohistory, vol. 19, no. 2, Spring, 1972, pp. 123-34]). There is certainly no connection with ško·te 'fire', and the vowel differences rule out derivation from Ojibwa po·tawe· 'makes a fire'."

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Potawatomi was in 1698

Dictionary Entries Near Potawatomi

Cite this Entry

“Potawatomi.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Potawatomi. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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