Papoose
/pəˈpuːs/noun
A baby or young child, especially in historical use for a Native American infant carried in a cradleboard.
Did you know?English borrowed *papoose* from Narragansett/Algonquian speech in the colonial era, and its meaning was later generalized by outsiders, which is why it’s now often considered dated or offensive in some contexts.
Etymological Timeline
17th Century
Algonquian
papôs
“child or baby”
17th Century
Narragansett
papoos
“child; baby”
17th Century
English
papoose
“a Native American child, especially an infant carried on a cradleboard”
Modern English
English
papoose
“a baby or young child; now often marked as dated or offensive in some uses”