Passamaquoddy
/ˌpæsəməˈkwɑːdi/noun
A Native American people of northeastern North America and their Algonquian language.
Did you know?Passamaquoddy is the English spelling of a Mi'kmaq exonym for the Passamaquoddy people, and its exact original sense is uncertain, so scholars avoid forced “hidden meaning” claims.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact
Abenaki/Mi'kmaq
(uncertain original form)
“An Indigenous ethnonym for the Passamaquoddy people, preserved through neighboring-language transmission”
17th Century
French
Passamaquoddy
“A recorded European spelling of the tribal name”
18th Century
English
Passamaquoddy
“The English form of the name for the people and their territory”
Modern English
English
Passamaquoddy
“The people, language, and related place names in Maine and New Brunswick”