Yuman
/ˈjuːmən/noun
Of or relating to the Yuma people or the family of Indigenous languages traditionally spoken in the lower Colorado River region.
Did you know?Yuman is a linguistic classification covering languages such as Quechan, Mojave, Cocopah, and Maricopa, many of which remain connected to communities in the American Southwest and northwestern Mexico.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-European contact
Quechan and related languages
Yuma-related ethnonyms
“Indigenous names and designations used among peoples of the lower Colorado River region; the precise original source of the later exonym Yuma is debated.”
16th Century
Spanish
Yuma
“A Spanish designation for the people encountered near the lower Colorado River, later applied to their region and language.”
19th Century
English
Yuma
“An English ethnonym and place-name associated especially with the Yuma, now commonly called the Quechan people.”
Late 19th–Early 20th Century
English
Yuman
“A scholarly adjective and noun for the Yuma/Quechan language and the broader related language family.”
Modern English
English
Yuman
“Relating to the Yuma people, the Yuman language family, or its individual languages.”