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.[1]
Pronunciation
Noun
squaw (plural squaws)
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.
Derived terms
Derived terms
Translations
a woman, wife; especially a Native American woman
References
- ^ Ives Goddard, The True History of the Word Squaw, in Indian Country News (April 1997), page 17A
Further reading
French
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] English squaw.
Pronunciation
Noun
squaw f (plural squaws)
- 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
Further reading
- “squaw”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Massachusett
- English terms derived from Massachusett
- English terms derived from Proto-Algonquian
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɔː
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English offensive terms
- English ethnic slurs
- en:People
- French terms derived from English
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French terms spelled with W
- French feminine nouns