squaw

English

Etymology

From the Massachusett word squàws (“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.

Noun

squaw (plural squaws)

1. (now offensive) 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 often considered offensive.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• old squaw
• squaw bush, squawbush
• squaw carpet
• squaw fish
• squaw flower

• squaw mint
• squaw root
• squaw vine, squawberry
• squawweed
• squaw winter

Translations

a woman, wife; especially a Native American woman

• Esperanto: skvo
• French: squaw (fr) f

• Russian: скво 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

   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)

Synonyms

• Amérindienne

Further reading

• “squaw” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).