Cherokee

See also: cherokee

English

Etymology

Most likely from the (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Cherokee autonym ᏣᎳᎩ (tsalagi). Derivation from a (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Choctaw exonym meaning "those who live in caves" (compare chiluk (“cave”)) has also been suggested — the Iroquois term for the Cherokee was Oyata'ge'ronon (“inhabitants of the cave country”) — as has derivation from a (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Creek term for "person(s) who speak(s) a non-Creek language" (see celokketv (“to speak a non-creek language”)).

Whatever its origin, the ethnonym entered European languages at an early date, perhaps as early as the 1670s; in Spanish, the people are called the Tchalaquei as early as 1755.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛ.ɹə.ˌkiː/

Proper noun

Cherokee

1. An indigenous North American people.
2. Their Iroquoian language, spoken in Oklahoma and North Carolina.
3. A syllabary for the Cherokee language invented by Sequoyah.
4. A town in Colbert County, Alabama.
5. Cherokee Village, Arkansas.
6. A census-designated place in Butte County, California.
7. A former gold mining settlement in Nevada County, California.
8. A city, the county seat of Cherokee County, Iowa.
9. A city in Crawford County, Kansas.
10. A census-designated place in Swain County and Jackson County, North Carolina.
11. An unincorporated community in Logan County, Ohio.
12. A city, the county seat of Alfalfa County, Oklahoma.
13. An unincorporated community in Grainger County, Tennessee.
14. An unincorporated community in San Saba County, Texas.
15. An unincorporated community in McDowell County, West Virginia
16. An unincorporated community in Hull, Marathon County, Wisconsin.
17. A town in Victoria, Australia.
18. Ellipsis of Cherokee County.

Synonyms

• (the Arkansas and Tennessee communities) Cherokee Village

Derived terms

• Cherokee County
• Cherokee Village

Translations

indigenous North American people

• Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩ (chr) (tsalagi)
• Dutch: Cherokee (nl) m
• Finnish: cherokeet pl
• French: Cherokees (fr) pl
• Georgian: ჩეროკი (čeroḳi)
• German: Tscherokesen m pl
• Irish: Seiricíoch m
• Navajo: Chééwokii dineʼé
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: چروکی
• Hijazi Arabic: الكهفي
• Polish: Czirokezi m pl
• Portuguese: cherokees m pl, cheroquis m pl
• Russian: черо́ки (ru) pl (čeróki)
• Spanish: cheroquí m pl
• Swahili: Mcherokii
• Swedish: Cherokeser

language

• Armenian: չերոկի (hy) (čʻeroki)
• Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ (tsalagi gawonihisdi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 切羅基語／切罗基语 (zh), 切罗基语 (qiēluōjīyǔ)

• Dutch: Cherokee (nl) n
• Esperanto: ĉeroka (with definite article)
• Finnish: cherokee (fi)
• French: cherokee (fr) m
• Georgian: ჩეროკი (čeroḳi)
• German: Tscherokesisch n, Cherokee (de) n
• Irish: Seiricis f
• Japanese: チェロキー語 (ja) (cherokī-go)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 체로키어 (cherokieo)
• Kyrgyz: черокиче (ky) (cerokice)
• Mapudungun: chiroki dungun
• Navajo: Chééwokii dineʼé bizaad
• Persian: چروکی
• Polish: czirokeski (pl) m
• Portuguese: cherokee (pt) m, cheroqui (pt) m
• Russian: черо́ки (ru) m (čeróki), язы́к черо́ки m (jazýk čeróki)
• Spanish: cheroquí m
• Swahili: Kicherokii
• Swedish: cherokesiska (sv)
• Volapük: cirog (vo)

syllabary

• Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩ ᏗᎪᏪᎶᏙᏗ (tsalagi digowelododi)
• Finnish: cherokee-kirjoitus (fi)
• French: cherokee (fr) m
• Irish: siollabra Seiricíoch m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: cherokee (pt) m, cheroqui (pt) m
• Russian: черо́ки (ru) m (čeróki)
• Spanish: cheroquí m
• Swahili: Kicherokii

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hindi: ^{(please verify)} चिरोकी (hi) (cirokī)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} Чероки m

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} Čeroki (sh) m

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Noun

Cherokee (plural Cherokees)

1. A member of this people.

Translations

individual member of this people

• Czech: Čerokí m, Čerokéz m
• German: Tscherokese m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: cherokee (pt) m or f, cheroqui (pt) m or f

Further reading

• Ethnologue entry for Cherokee, chr ⁠

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English Cherokee.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Che‧ro‧kee

Proper noun

Cherokee n

1. the Cherokee language

Proper noun

Cherokee pl

1. Cherokee people

Noun

Cherokee m (plural Cherokees)

1. a member of the Cherokee people