Seneca
/ˈsɛnɪkə/noun
A member of a Native American people of the Iroquois Confederacy, or the name of the language they speak.
Did you know?The name 'Seneca' is not the tribe’s own self-name; it’s an exonym used by Europeans, while the people call themselves Onödowá’ga:’, meaning 'People of the Great Hill.'
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact
Iroquoian
Onödowá’ga:’
“The people’s own name, meaning 'People of the Great Hill'”
16th Century
European usage
Seneca
“An outsider’s name applied to the nation, likely through a chain of borrowing and reinterpretation”
17th Century
English
Seneca
“Used in English for the nation and its language in colonial records”
Modern English
English
Seneca
“The standard English name for the people, their language, and related places or institutions”