Algonquian
[ al-gong-kee-uh n, -kwee-uh n ]
/ ælˈgɒŋ ki ən, -kwi ən /
noun, plural Al·gon·qui·ans, (especially collectively) Al·gon·qui·an for 2.
a family of languages spoken now or formerly by American Indians in an area extending from Labrador westward to the Rocky Mountains, west-southwestward through Michigan and Illinois, and southwestward along the Atlantic coast to Cape Hatteras, including especially Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Cree, Fox, Massachusett, Micmac, Ojibwa, and Powhatan.
Compare family(def 14).
a member of an Algonquian-speaking tribe.
adjective
of or relating to Algonquian or its speakers.
Origin of Algonquian
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90;
Algonqui(n) +
-an
Example sentences from the Web for algonquian
British Dictionary definitions for algonquian
Algonquian
Algonkian
/ (ælˈɡɒŋkɪən, -kwɪ-) /
noun
a family of North American Indian languages whose speakers ranged over an area stretching from the Atlantic between Newfoundland and Delaware to the Rocky Mountains, including Micmac, Mahican, Ojibwa, Fox, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, and Shawnee. Some linguists relate it to Muskogean in a Macro-Algonquian phylum
plural -ans or -an
a member of any of the North American Indian peoples that speak one of these languages
adjective
denoting, belonging to, or relating to this linguistic family or its speakers