athabascan
athabascan Lexical Profile
• noun
North American A large family of indigenous languages spoken in western North America, including the Navajo and Apache languages.
"Linguists have studied Athabascan extensively to understand the historical migrations of indigenous peoples across the North American continent."
North American A member of any of the indigenous North American peoples who speak an Athabascan language.
"Many Athabascans traditionally lived in the interior subarctic regions of Alaska and northwestern Canada."
Word Nuance & Usage
The term is frequently spelled 'Athapaskan' in linguistic and anthropological contexts, though 'Athabascan' is common in general usage and geographic naming.
• Rhymes for athabascan
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in 1826 by ethnologist Albert Gallatin, named after Lake Athabasca in Canada. The lake's name derives from the Woods Cree word 'aðapaskāw', meaning 'where there are plants one after another'.