Paiute
/ˈpaɪ.juːt/noun
A member of a Native American people of the Great Basin, or the Uto-Aztecan language they speak.
Did you know?Paiute is an English exonym whose exact origin is debated, but it is generally traced to a neighboring Native term meaning something like 'water Ute' or 'true Ute,' showing how tribal names were often filtered through outsider ears.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact
Native American
?
“An indigenous self-name or neighboring name used among Great Basin peoples, not directly recorded in early English sources.”
19th Century
English
Paiute
“An English spelling used for Great Basin Native peoples and their language.”
19th Century
English
Pah-Ute / Pa-Ute
“Variant spellings and analyses in early records, reflecting uncertainty about the name’s source and pronunciation.”
Modern English
English
Paiute
“The standard English ethnonym and language name used today.”