Pawnee
/ˈpɔːni/noun
A member of a Native American people originally from the Great Plains, or the language they speak.
Did you know?The English name Pawnee comes through French from an Indigenous name applied to the people, and it has no confirmed “hidden” occult meaning—its real power is historical memory, not magic.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian
Pawnee
Chahiksichahiks
“The people’s own self-name, roughly meaning 'men' or 'human beings'.”
16th-17th Century
Spanish
Panana / Panana-related forms
“Early European transcriptions of the tribe’s name in colonial records.”
17th-18th Century
French
Pani / Pawnee
“French forms used for the people in North American colonial writing.”
18th-19th Century
English
Pawnee
“The established English name for the Pawnee people.”