Mi'kmaw
/ˈmɪɡ.mɑː/noun
A singular noun or adjective referring to a member of the Mi'kmaq Indigenous people of Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States.
Did you know?Mi'kmaw is the singular form, while Mi'kmaq is commonly used for the people as a whole; the older English exonym “Micmac” is increasingly avoided because Mi'kmaq communities favor their own forms.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Mi'kmaw
Mi'kmaw
“The singular form used for one member of the Mi'kmaq people; its deeper internal derivation is interpreted differently in linguistic sources.”
17th Century
French
Micmac
“A French rendering of the Indigenous ethnonym, recorded in early colonial accounts.”
17th–18th Century
English
Micmac
“The form adopted into English as an exonym for the Mi'kmaq people.”
20th Century
Mi'kmaw and English
Mi'kmaq
“The community-preferred plural or collective form, increasingly replacing the colonial spelling “Micmac.””
Modern English
English
Mi'kmaw
“The singular noun and attributive adjective used in English for an individual person or something connected with the Mi'kmaq people.”