Lake Oconee
/leɪk əˈkoʊni/noun
A reservoir on the Oconee River in central Georgia, United States.
Did you know?The modern lake is an artificial reservoir created in 1979 when Wallace Dam flooded part of the Oconee River valley, while “Oconee” preserves the name of an Indigenous people and river.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*lókus
“A body of water, lake, or pool; the reconstructed ancestor of the Latin water-word behind English lake.”
Classical Latin
Latin
lacus
“Lake, pool, basin, or reservoir.”
Old French
Old French
lac
“Lake; borrowed from Latin lacus.”
Middle English
English
lake
“A lake or inland body of water.”
18th Century
English
Oconee
“A regional Indigenous name applied to the Oconee River; its precise original meaning is disputed in historical sources.”
1979
English
Lake Oconee
“The named Georgia reservoir formed behind Wallace Dam on the Oconee River.”
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