Taino
/taɪˈiːnoʊ/noun
A member of an Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, especially Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Jamaica, or their Arawakan language.
Did you know?The popular meaning “noble” or “good” is widely repeated, but scholars caution that the word’s original context and meaning remain disputed in early Spanish records.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian era
Taíno
taíno
“A term recorded in the Taíno-speaking Caribbean; its precise original meaning and use as a group name are uncertain.”
1492
Spanish
taíno
“Recorded by Christopher Columbus and other early Spanish observers in descriptions of Caribbean peoples.”
16th Century
Spanish
taíno
“Used in colonial writing as an ethnonym for Indigenous peoples of parts of the Greater Antilles.”
19th Century
English
Taino
“Adopted into English-language historical and anthropological writing for the people and their language.”
Modern English
English
Taíno/Taino
“The standard name for the Indigenous Caribbean people, their culture, and their historically documented language.”