Siouan

[ soo-uhn ]

noun

1. an American Indian language family formerly widespread from Saskatchewan to the lower Mississippi, also found in the Virginia and Carolina piedmont, and including Catawba, Crow, Dakota, Hidatsa, Mandan, Osage, and Winnebago.
2. a member of one of the Siouan-speaking peoples.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Sioux or the Siouan languages.

Siouan

/ ˈsuːən /

noun

1. a family of North American Indian languages including Sioux, probably related to Iroquoian

adjective

1. of or relating to the Sioux peoples or languages

Word History and Origins

Origin of Siouan¹

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; Sioux + -an

Example Sentences

On September 14, 1869, Siouan warriors attempted another foray into Wind River Valley but were repulsed by troops.

From Project Gutenberg

He was, moreover, the first to discover that the Tutelos of Virginia belonged to the Siouan family, and to identify the Cherokee as a member of the Iroquoian family of speech.

From Project Gutenberg

One, a, represents clearly the elm-bark covering of the wigwams, and in this picture the arbor suggests a Siouan rather than an Ojibway encampment; b is more characteristic of the Ojibway.

From Project Gutenberg

At one Siouan village, "the first Puff blew down all the Palisadoes that fortified the town."

From Project Gutenberg

First, a growing and expounding Siouan race, pressed forward also by an expanding irresistible Algonkian stock, occupied the high plains and pushed back its peoples behind the wall of mountains.

From Project Gutenberg