squaw

English

Etymology

From Massachusett squàw (“woman”), from Proto-Algonquian *eθkwe·wa (“(young) woman”). Cognate with Abenaki -skwa (“female, wife”), Mohegan-Pequot sqá, Cree iskwew / ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (iskeyw, “woman”), Ojibwe ikwe (“woman”). In the 1970s, some non-linguists began to claim that the word originally meant "vagina"; this has been discredited. The first recorded version of the word was found in a book called Mourt’s Relation: A Journey of the Pilgrims at Plymouth written in 1622. The term was not used in a derogatory fashion but spoke of the “squa sachim or Massachusets Queen” in the September 20, 1621 journal entry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skwɔː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː

Noun

squaw (plural squaws)

1. (now offensive, ethnic slur) A woman, wife; especially a Native American woman.
   • 1963, Lester del Rey, The Sky Is Falling:

     There was nothing said about romance and beauteous Indian maids, but Dave filled that in himself. He would need the money when he and Bertha got married, too, and all that healthy outdoor living was just what the doctor would have ordered. The Indian maids, of course, turned out to be a few fat old squaws who knew all about white men. The outdoor living developed into five months of rain, hail, sleet, blizzard, fog and constant freezing in tractors while breathing the healthy fumes of diesels.

Usage notes

Previously used neutrally, the word began to be used as a term of contempt in the late 1800s; it is now generally considered offensive. See Squaw § Historical usage on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Derived terms

• oldsquaw
• squawberry
• squawbush
• squaw candy
• squaw carpet
• squawdom
• squaw dress
• squawfish
• squaw flower
• Squaw Grove
• squaw huckleberry
• squaw man
• squaw mint
• squawroot
• squaw tea
• Squaw Valley
• squaw vine
• squawweed
• squaw winter

Translations

a woman, wife; especially a Native American woman

• Bulgarian: индианка f (indianka)
• Esperanto: skvo
• French: squaw (fr) f
• Polish: squaw (pl) f
• Portuguese: mulher índia (especialmente norte americana) f
• Russian: скво (ru) f (skvo)

French

Etymology

From English squaw.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skwo/

Noun

squaw f (plural squaws)

1. squaw (not pejorative in French), Native American woman

   Synonym: Amérindienne

   • 1873, Jules Verne, Le Pays des fourrures:

     Ces chefs, au nombre d'une douzaine, n’avaient point amené leurs femmes, malheureuses « squaws » qui ne s’élèvent guère au-dessus de la condition d’esclaves.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “squaw”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.