Athabascan

American  

[ath-uh-bas-kuhn] / ˌæθ əˈbæs kən /

(Older Spelling) Athabaskan;

noun

plural

Athabascans,

plural

Athabascan

1. a family of languages spoken by North American Indians in most of Alaska and inland northwest Canada, in coastal Oregon and California, and in Arizona and the Rio Grande basin, and including especially Navajo, Apache, and Chipewyan.

2. a member of any of various North American Indian peoples speaking Athabascan.

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adjective

1. belonging to or characteristic of the Athabascan.

Etymology

Origin of Athabascan

First recorded in 1770–80; earlier Athapasca(s), introduced as a term for the Canadian Athabascans (from Woods Cree ahδapaska·w “Lake Athabasca,” literally, “there are reeds here and there,” from Proto-Algonquian aʔlap(y)- “net, reticulated” + -ašk- “plant” + derivational elements) + -an

Example Sentences

The weeklong Koyukon Athabascan burial ceremony in September was traditional in all ways but one: McCormick died in 1931.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 29, 2024

The stamps feature skateboard artists from around the country, including Greenwood and Crystal Worl, who is Tlingit Athabascan.

From Washington Times • Mar. 24, 2023

In a region the size of Oregon, the population is just 26,000 — the majority of them Yup’ik, Cup’ik or Athabascan.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2022

Denali, the mountain’s federally recognized name since 2015, is a Koyukon word that meaning “the tall one” that has been in use for 10,000 to 12,000 years by many Athabascan peoples, an Alaska Native group.

From Scientific American • Apr. 22, 2022

One of the most numerous branches of Athabascan stock are the Apaches, a fierce, nomadic nation, roaming over the Territories of New Mexico and Arizona, and Sonora and Chihuahua.

From Descriptive Catalogue of Photographs of North American Indians by Jackson, W. H.