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 (Berkshire, UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː

Noun

squaw (plural squaws)

1. (now offensive, ethnic slur) A woman, wife; especially a Native American woman.

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 Wikipedia.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• oldsquaw
• squaw bush, squawbush
• squaw carpet
• squawdom
• squawfish
• squaw flower

• squaw man
• squaw mint
• squawroot
• Squaw Valley
• squaw vine, squawberry
• 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
• Russian: скво (ru) f (skvo)

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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

   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. (Jules Verne, Le Pays des fourrures, 1873)

Further reading

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