Choctaw

[ chok-taw ]

noun

, plural Choc·taws, (especially collectively) Choc·taw

1. a member of a large Muskhogean tribe of North American Indians, formerly living chiefly in southern Mississippi, now in Oklahoma.
2. the language of the Choctaw, closely related to Chickasaw.
3. Informal: Offensive. something unintelligible, as speech, illegible handwriting, or an ineffectual explanation; gibberish: Greek ( def 6 ).

   My best efforts at clarity were Choctaw to him.

4. choctaw, Figure Skating. a type of turn that changes the skater’s orientation in either direction, from skating forward to backward or backward to forward, with a change of foot from right to left or left to right, and a change of edge from outside to inside or inside to outside:

   The quickstep compulsory dance requires a choctaw from the forward outside edge of the skating foot to the backward inside edge of the other foot.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Choctaw or their language.

Choctaw

¹

/ ˈtʃɒktɔː /

noun

1. -taws-taw a member of a Native American people of Alabama
2. the language of this people, belonging to the Muskogean family

choctaw

²

/ ˈtʃɒktɔː /

noun

1. skating a turn from the inside edge of one skate to the outside edge of the other or vice versa

Word History and Origins

Origin of Choctaw¹

First recorded in 1720–30; from Choctaw chahta, a self-designation of unknown meaning

Word History and Origins

Origin of Choctaw¹

C18: from Choctaw Chahta

Origin of Choctaw²

C19: after Choctaw

Example Sentences

Native Americans have held widely divergent views about citizenship and voting, said Torey Dolan, a research fellow at the University of Wisconsin Law School and citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

From Seattle Times

Gibson, a Mississippi Choctaw with Cherokee descent, is the first Native American to represent the United States solo at the Venice Biennale, the world’s oldest contemporary art show.

From Seattle Times

Titled “the space in which to place me,” the show is a mini-survey of the rapturous art of the queer Choctaw and Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson.

From New York Times

In Oklahoma, the Choctaw Nation had seen a 200 percent increase as of mid-March in reservations at its resorts and casinos.

From New York Times

Seattle’s queer and Native American communities are mourning the death of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teen of Choctaw descent who died a day after an altercation inside an Oklahoma high school bathroomlast month.

From Seattle Times