Pennacooke
/ˈpɛn.ə.kʊk/noun
A historical English spelling of Pennacook, referring to an Indigenous people and their homeland in the Merrimack Valley of New England.
Did you know?The Pennacook were a powerful Wabanaki-associated people whose leader Passaconaway was later surrounded by stories of supernatural power, though those accounts reflect colonial-era interpretation.
Etymological Timeline
Before European contact
Abenakian
penakuk
“A reconstructed or historically attested Indigenous place-name form associated with the Pennacook homeland; its precise internal meaning is uncertain.”
17th Century
English
Pennacooke
“A colonial spelling used for the Pennacook people, settlement, or region along the Merrimack River.”
17th Century
English
Pennacook
“A commoner English spelling for the Indigenous nation and its principal settlement.”
18th Century
English
Pennacook
“A historical name applied to the people and to locations in present-day New Hampshire and Massachusetts.”
Modern English
English
Pennacook
“A historical and geographic name preserved in New England place-names, including Penacook, New Hampshire.”