Abenaki
/ˌæbəˈnɑːki/noun
A member of a Native American people of the northeastern United States and Canada, or the Eastern Algonquian language they speak.
Did you know?Abenaki is an English form of a name used by an Eastern Algonquian people, but the exact original self-name and its historical development are not fully certain, so scholars avoid forcing a fake “secret meaning” onto it.
Etymological Timeline
17th-18th Century
French/English
Abenaki
“European spellings used for an Eastern Algonquian people and their language in northeastern North America.”
Early Modern Period
French
Abénaquis
“French colonial form referring to the people collectively.”
Pre-Contact / Colonial Era
Eastern Algonquian
(reconstructed ethnonym uncertain)
“The indigenous self-name or related regional name source is not securely established in surviving records.”
Modern English
English
Abenaki
“The standard English ethnonym for the people and language.”
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