Nashua River
/ˈnæʃuə ˈrɪvər/noun
A river in southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts in the United States.
Did you know?Nashua is an English spelling of an Indigenous Algonquian name, commonly connected with Nashaway, though translations vary and may refer to the river’s landscape or pebbly bed.
Etymological Timeline
Before European contact
Nipmuc/Algonquian
Nashaway
“An Indigenous place-name associated with the Nashua River region; its exact original meaning is disputed.”
17th Century
English colonial records
Nashaway River
“English records used Nashaway and related spellings for the Indigenous-named river.”
17th–18th Century
English
Nashua River
“Nashua became the established English spelling and geographic name.”
Modern English
English
Nashua River
“The river flowing through New Hampshire and Massachusetts, joining the Merrimack River.”