Mikmaq
/ˈmɪɡ.mæɡ/noun
A member of a First Nations people of eastern Canada, or the language they speak.
Did you know?The English spelling often appears as Mi'kmaq, and the name is tied to the people’s own language rather than a borrowed European label, which is why preserving the apostrophe matters culturally.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Algonquian
PA
*me?kw- / *mi?kw-
“likely related to kinship or self-designation elements reconstructed from Algonquian forms”
Mi'kmaq language
Mic
Mi'kmaq
“the people themselves; the plural self-name”
17th Century
French
Micmac
“French spelling used for the people and language”
19th-20th Century
English
Micmac
“English ethnonym and language name, often without the apostrophe”
Modern English
English
Mi'kmaq
“the preferred contemporary spelling for the people and language”