Penacook
/ˈpɛn.ə.kʊk/noun
Penacook is a village in Concord, New Hampshire, named for the Pennacook Indigenous people of the Merrimack River region.
Did you know?The Pennacook were a powerful Indigenous confederacy whose leader, Passaconaway, was later surrounded by legends portraying him as a supernatural or magical figure.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-European contact
Abenaki
penakuk
“A traditional place-name associated with the Pennacook people; the precise internal analysis is debated.”
17th Century
English
Pennacook
“The name recorded by English colonists for an Indigenous people and their settlement along the Merrimack River.”
17th Century
English
Pennacook Plantation
“A colonial designation for the area associated with the Pennacook region.”
18th–19th Century
English
Penacook
“An anglicized spelling used for the settlement in present-day New Hampshire.”
Modern English
English
Penacook
“A village in Concord, New Hampshire, retaining the historical Indigenous place-name.”