Huron
/ˈhjʊr.ɒn/noun
A member of the Wyandot people, or the language they spoke; also the name of a Great Lakes-related historical region and several place names.
Did you know?The name Huron was applied by French explorers to the Wyandot people, and in older French it was often explained as referring to a “boar’s head” or “ruffian” hairstyle, though the people themselves called themselves Wyandot/Wendat.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
French
Hure
“Boar's head; a rough or shaggy head of hair”
16th Century
French
Hureon
“A rough, boorish person; later an applied ethnonym in colonial usage”
17th Century
French
Huron
“French name applied to the Wyandot people”
17th Century
English
Huron
“Borrowed from French as the name of the people, language, and related places”
Modern English
English
Huron
“A Wyandot person, their language, or a proper name for places and institutions”