Tennessee River
/ˌtɛn.əˈsiː ˈrɪv.ər/noun
A major river of the southeastern United States that flows through Tennessee and joins the Ohio River.
Did you know?“Tennessee” was recorded by Europeans from a Cherokee or Muskogean place-name associated with Tanasi, but scholars still cannot establish its original meaning with certainty.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-European contact
Indigenous North American
Tanasi / Tanasqui
“A recorded Indigenous place-name, probably referring to a settlement in the Tennessee Valley; its precise meaning is unknown.”
1560s
Spanish
Tanasqui
“An early Spanish rendering of the name encountered during exploration of the southeastern interior.”
17th–18th Century
English
Tennessee
“An English form developing from earlier European spellings of the Indigenous place-name.”
Middle English
English
rivere
“A flowing natural watercourse, borrowed through Anglo-French.”
12th Century
Anglo-French
riviere
“A river or stream, from Medieval Latin riparia, originally meaning land or water along a bank.”
Modern English
English
Tennessee River
“The established name of the river rising in eastern Tennessee, flowing southwest into Alabama, and then north to the Ohio River.”