squaw

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English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Wikipedia

Etymology

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 recorded version of the word was found in a book called Mourt’s Relation: A Journey of the Pilgrims at Plymouth written in 1622. The term was not used in a derogatory fashion but spoke of the “squa sachim or Massachusets Queen” in the September 20, 1621 journal entry.

Pronunciation

Noun

squaw (plural squaws)

  1. (now offensive, ethnic slur) A woman, wife; especially a Native American woman.

Usage notes

Previously used neutrally, the word began to be used as a term of contempt in the late 1800s; it is now generally considered offensive. See Squaw § Historical usage on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Ives Goddard, The True History of the Word Squaw, in Indian Country News (April 1997), page 17A
  2. ^ The Word Squaw: Offensive or Not?, indiancountrytoday.com (archived)
  3. ^ Rina Torchinksy (2022 February 23) “The U.S. looks to replace a derogatory name used hundreds of times on federal lands”, in Race‎, NPR, retrieved 2022-02-23

French

Etymology

From English squaw.

Pronunciation

Noun

squaw f (plural squaws)

  1. squaw (not pejorative in French), Native American woman
    Synonym: Amérindienne
    Ces chefs, au nombre d'une douzaine, n’avaient point amené leurs femmes, malheureuses « squaws » qui ne s’élèvent guère au-dessus de la condition d’esclaves. (Jules Verne, Le Pays des fourrures, 1873)

Further reading

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