Gros Ventre
/ˌɡroʊ vɒnˈtrə/noun
A historical English name for the A’aninin people of the Northern Great Plains and their language.
Did you know?The A’aninin traditionally call themselves A’aninin, meaning “White Clay People”; “Gros Ventre” is an exonym, not their original self-designation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wendh-
“A reconstructed root associated with the belly or abdomen, linked to the later Latin family behind ventre.”
Classical Latin
Latin
venter
“Belly, abdomen, or stomach.”
Classical Latin
Latin
grossus
“Thick, coarse, large, or bulky; the deeper origin of this word is uncertain.”
Old French
Old French
ventre
“Belly or abdomen.”
Medieval French
French
gros ventre
“Literally “big belly”; a descriptive phrase later used as an outsider name.”
18th Century
English/French
Gros Ventre
“An English-rendered French name applied to the A’aninin people, partly through colonial and intercultural mistranslation.”
Modern English
English
Gros Ventre
“A historical exonym for the A’aninin people, who generally prefer their own name, A’aninin.”