Mikasuki
/ˌmiː.kəˈsuː.ki/noun
Mikasuki is a Muskogean language traditionally spoken by the Miccosukee people of southern Florida.
Did you know?Mikasuki is closely associated with the Miccosukee Tribe, whose language remains one of the few Indigenous languages still spoken in Florida.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact Period
Muskogean
Mikasuki
“An Indigenous ethnolinguistic name associated with the ancestors of the modern Mikasuki-speaking community; its internal literal analysis is uncertain.”
18th Century
English/Colonial records
Mikasuki / Miccosukee
“European and colonial records begin recording variant spellings for the people and settlement associated with the name.”
19th Century
English
Miccosukee
“Miccosukee becomes a common English spelling for the people, while Mikasuki is increasingly used for their language.”
20th Century
English
Mikasuki
“The form Mikasuki becomes established in linguistic and anthropological writing as the name of the language.”
Modern English
English
Mikasuki
“The modern name of a living Southern Florida Muskogean language and, by extension, its speech community.”