Chautauqua

[ shuh-taw-kwuh, chuh- ]

noun

1. Lake, a lake in SW New York. 18 miles (29 km) long.
2. a village on this lake: summer educational center.
3. an annual educational meeting, originating in this village in 1874, providing public lectures, concerts, and dramatic performances during the summer months, usually in an outdoor setting.
4. (usually lowercase) any similar assembly, especially one of a number meeting in a circuit of communities.

adjective

1. of or relating to a system of education flourishing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, originating at Lake Chautauqua, New York.
2. (usually lowercase) pertaining to a chautauqua:

   a chautauqua program.

chautauqua

/ ʃəˈtɔːkwə /

noun

1. (in the US, formerly) a summer school or educational meeting held in the summer

Word History and Origins

Origin of Chautauqua¹

C19: named after Chautauqua, a lake in New York near which such a school was first held

Example Sentences

Actors begin where militia colonels, Fifth avenue rectors and Chautauqua orators leave off.

From Project Gutenberg

And there is another view that may be taken of Mr. Bryan's Chautauqua orations.

From Project Gutenberg

The climate, too, is much like that of the Chautauqua district.

From Project Gutenberg

This was the first carload of grapes sent from Chautauqua County.

From Project Gutenberg

In 1870 there were about 600 acres of vineyards in Chautauqua County.

From Project Gutenberg