Chippewa Falls
/ˈtʃɪp.ə.wə fɔːlz/noun
A city in west-central Wisconsin, United States, on the Chippewa River.
Did you know?Chippewa is an English spelling of Ojibwe, the name of an Algonquian people whose ethnonym is often linked to the idea of a “puckered” or “drawn-up” style of moccasin-making, though the exact origin is debated.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact Era
Ojibwe
Ojibwe
“The name of the people later rendered in English as Chippewa; the exact original sense is uncertain and debated.”
17th Century
French
Outaouais / Saulteurs / Chippeways
“French colonial spellings and labels for Indigenous peoples and places in the Great Lakes region.”
18th Century
English
Chippewa
“An English form of the Ojibwe ethnonym, used for the people, language, and river names.”
19th Century
English
Chippewa Falls
“A settlement name referring to the falls on the Chippewa River.”
Modern English
English
Chippewa Falls
“The modern city name in Wisconsin.”