Lenape
/ləˈnɑːpi/noun
A member of an Indigenous people traditionally associated with the Delaware River valley and surrounding regions, or the Algonquian language they spoke.
Did you know?The name Delaware was imposed by English colonists after Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, while Lenape is the community’s own Indigenous name.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Algonquian (reconstructed)
Proto-Algonquian
*elen-
“A reconstructed root associated with a person or human being”
Proto-Eastern Algonquian
Eastern Algonquian
*ələn-ap-
“A reconstructed formation referring to a person or human”
17th Century
Unami
lënápe
“Person, human being, or people”
17th Century
Dutch and English
Lenape
“A name recorded by European colonists for the Indigenous people of the Delaware Valley”
Modern English
English
Lenape
“The Lenape people or their traditionally spoken language”