Arawak

American  

[ar-uh-wahk, -wak] / ˈær əˌwɑk, -ˌwæk /

noun

plural

Arawaks,

plural

Arawak

1. a member of an Indian people once widespread in the Antilles but now living primarily in coastal northeastern South America.

2. any of the related Arawakan languages spoken by the Arawak.

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Etymology

Origin of Arawak

First recorded in 1835–40; a self-designation of the Arawak people

Example Sentences

Because of its unique location between South and North America, most people in Curacao speak four languages — English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamentu, a Creole blend of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and Arawak.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

Colón landed in Puerto Rico in 1493 accompanied by Spaniard Ponce de León, who later became the island’s first governor and quelled an uprising by the native Tainos, a subgroup of the Arawak Indians.

From Washington Times • Jul. 11, 2020

Arawak and Kalinas tribes lived in Guadeloupe before Columbus traveled there in 1493.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2017

It did in fact take a tribe to lay the ground for the phenomenon—specifically, the pre-Columbian Arawak tribe of Hispaniola, who slow-cooked meat over green wood.

From Time • Jul. 4, 2016

Southeast, and the Arawak languages of the West Indies.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond