Cayuga
/kaɪˈjuːɡə/noun
A member of a Native American people of the Iroquoian confederacy, or the language they speak.
Did you know?Cayuga is the name of one of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nations, and English borrowed it through French and other colonial spellings rather than from a single fixed native spelling.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact
Cayuga
Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ
“The self-name of the Cayuga people and their language, traditionally associated with the Cayuga Lake region”
17th Century
French
Cayuga
“A French rendering of the name of the Cayuga people”
18th Century
English
Cayuga
“The name of the Cayuga nation and, later, the language and related place names”
Modern English
English
Cayuga
“A member of the Cayuga nation, the Cayuga language, or things named after them”