squaw
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squaw
- /skwɔː/
Rhymes with -ɔː
Where it comes from
From Massachusett squàw (“woman”), from Proto-Algonquian *eθkwe·wa (“(young) woman”). Cognate with Abenaki -skwa (“female, wife”), Mohegan-Pequot sqá, Cree iskwew / ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (iskeyw, “woman”), Ojibwe ikwe (“woman”). In the 1970s, some non-linguists began to claim that the word originally meant “vagina”; this has been discredited.
The first English attestation of the word is found in a book called Mourt’s Relation: A Journey of the Pilgrims at Plymouth written in 1622, where the "squa sachim or Massachusets Queen" is mentioned in a journal entry from September 20, 1621.
noun squaws
- A woman, wife; especially a Native American woman. The nominal chief of this tribe was the husband of a lovely squaw.
Translations
Talk about this word "squaw." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/squaw. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. squaw. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/squaw "squaw." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/squaw.Cite this
@misc{squaw_2026,
title = {squaw},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/squaw},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
