SQUAW

squaw

(noun) derogatory terms for an American Indian woman

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

squaw (plural squaws)

(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.

Source: Wiktionary


Squaw, n. Etym: [Massachusetts Indian squa, eshqua; Narragansett squâws; Delaware ochqueu, and khqueu; used also in compound words (as the names of animals) in the sense of female.]

Definition: A female; a woman; -- in the language of Indian tribes of the Algonquin family, correlative of sannup. Old squaw. (Zoöl.) See under Old.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

27 May 2025

DIRECTIONALITY

(noun) the property of being directional or maintaining a direction; “the directionality of written English is from left to right”


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