The Cognātarium: Appendix L
Words derived from American Indian Languages
When Europeans first stepped onto American shores about 500 years ago, they possessed languages that were fully developed and capable of describing any of the things with which they were familiar. But they had never smelled a skunk or slept in a hammock; they had never eaten a tomato or cooked their food over a barbecue; they had never seen a mangrove tree, heard a coyote howl, or paddled a canoe; they had never worn a moccasin or experienced the terror of a hurricane. So it was only natural that they learn the names of these thing from the natives of the Americas, and begin to assimilate these names into their languages. Most of these words have changed form to flow more easily over a European tongue, but each one of them has its roots firmly embedded in the languages of the American Indians.
| Word | Language |
|---|---|
| abalone | (Californian) |
| alpaca | Aymara |
| annatto | Carib |
| anorak | Eskimo |
| appaloosa | Nez Percé |
| avocado | Nahuatl |
| barbecue | Taino |
| bayou | Choctaw |
| caiman | Carib |
| camas, camass | Chinook |
| canoe | Carib |
| carnauba | Tupi |
| chicle | Nahuatl |
| chili | Nahuatl |
| chipmunk | Algonquian |
| coca | Quechua |
| cocoa | Nahuatl |
| condor | Quechua |
| coyote | Nahuatl |
| curare | Carib |
| geoduck | Chinook |
| guacamole | Nahuatl |
| guano | Quechua |
| hammock | Taino |
| hickory | (Virginia area) |
| high muck-a-muck | Chinook |
| hurricane | Carib |
| igloo | Eskimo |
| ipecac | Tupi |
| jacaranda | Tupi |
| jaguar | Tupi |
| kayak | Eskimo |
| lagniappe | Quechua |
| maize | Taino |
| manatee | Carib |
| mangrove | Taino |
| manitou | Algonquian |
| mescal | Nahuatl |
| mesquite | Nahuatl |
| moccasin | Algonquian |
| ocelot | Nahuatl |
| opossum | Algonquian |
| papaya | Carib or Arawak |
| parka | Aleutian |
| pecan | Illinois |
| pemmican | Cree |
| peyote | Nahuatl |
| pipsissewa | Cree |
| piranha | Tupi |
| pirogue | Carib |
| poncho | Araucan |
| potato | Taino |
| puma | Quechua |
| quinine | Quechua |
| raccoon | Algonquian |
| sachem | Algonquian |
| sasquatch | Salish |
| skunk | Massachusett |
| sockeye | Salish |
| succotash | Narragansett |
| tamale | Nahuatl |
| tamarack | Algonquian |
| tautog | Narragansett |
| tepee | Dakota |
| terrapin | Algonquian |
| tobacco | Arawak |
| toboggan | Algonquian |
| tomahawk | Algonquian |
| tomato | Nahuatl |
| totem | Algonquian |
| toucan | Tupi |
| wigwam | Algonquian |
72 entries found.
Copyright © 2005–2007 Daniel M. Short. All Rights Reserved.