Comanche

[ kuh-man-chee, koh- ]

noun

, plural Co·man·ches, (especially collectively) Co·man·che

1. a member of a Shoshonean tribe, the only tribe of the group living entirely on the Plains, formerly ranging from Wyoming to Texas, now in Oklahoma.
2. the dialect of Shoshone spoken by the Comanche.

Comanche

/ kəˈmæntʃɪ /

noun

1. -ches-che a member of a Native American people, formerly ranging from the River Platte to the Mexican border, now living in Oklahoma
2. the language of this people, belonging to the Shoshonean subfamily of the Uto-Aztecan family

Word History and Origins

Origin of Comanche¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1800–10; from Colonial Spanish, from Southern Paiute kɨmmanci-, as in kɨmmanciŋwṫ “strangers, Shoshones”; or from a related word in another Numic language

Example Sentences

Here’s what to know about how the Predator’s greatest foe evolved from a bodybuilder in the middle of the jungle to an 18th century Comanche woman.

From Time

The route encompasses the Spanish Peaks, a sacred spot for many tribes, including the Comanche and Ute, who believed that summer thunderstorms were a magic act performed by rain gods living in the summit.

From Washington Post

In the case of the Comanche, it turned out that even the Army did not want a radar-stealthy helicopter.

From The Daily Beast

Her weathered, darkened skin and bulky build advertised the separate life she had lived as a Comanche wife and mother.

From The Daily Beast

He was coming like a house afire, his long hair blowing out behind him, and he was howling like a Comanche.

From Project Gutenberg

The strangers were eighty Comanche warriors, with the grand chief of the tribe at their head.

From Project Gutenberg

Bourgmont pitched his tents at a pistol-shot from the Comanche lodges, whence a crowd of warriors presently came to visit him.

From Project Gutenberg

And he offered Bourgmont, in case of need, the aid of his two thousand Comanche warriors.

From Project Gutenberg

For, centuries ago a Shoshone and a Comanche stopped here on their return from a hunt to drink.

From Project Gutenberg