Illinois

¹

[ il-uh-noior, sometimes, -noiz ]

noun

, plural Il·li·nois [il-, uh, -, noi, -, noiz].

1. a member of a confederacy of North American Indians of Algonquian stock, formerly occupying Illinois and adjoining regions westward.
2. the Algonquian language of the Illinois and Miami Indians.

Illinois

²

[ il-uh-noior, sometimes, -noiz ]

noun

1. a state in the central United States: a part of the Midwest. 56,400 sq. mi. (146,075 sq. km). : Springfield. : IL (for use with zip code), Ill.
2. a river flowing southwest from northeastern Illinois to the Mississippi River: connected by a canal with Lake Michigan. 273 miles (440 km) long.

Illinois

/ ˌɪlɪˈnɔɪ /

noun

1. a state of the N central US, in the Midwest: consists of level prairie crossed by the Illinois and Kaskaskia Rivers; mainly agricultural. Capital: Springfield. Pop: 12 653 544 (2003 est). Area: 144 858 sq km (55 930 sq miles) AbbreviationIll.with zip codeIL
2. a river in Illinois, flowing SW to the Mississippi. Length: 439 km (273 miles)

Illinois

1. State in the north-central United States bordered on the north by Wisconsin , the east by Indiana , the south by Kentucky , and the west by Missouri and Iowa . Its capital is Springfield, and its largest city is Chicago .

Pronunciation Note

The pronunciation of Illinois with a final [z], which occurs chiefly among less educated speakers, is least common in Illinois itself, increasing in frequency as distance from the state increases.

Notes

Known as the “Land of Lincoln” because Abraham Lincoln began his political career there.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Illinois¹

1715–25, Americanism; < French, earlier Eriniouai, Ilinoués, etc., from an unidentified Algonquian language, apparently literally, “one who sounds normal” (i.e., “a person who speaks an Algonquian language”), equivalent to the (unattested) Proto-Algonquian elements elen- “ordinary” + -we “make sound”

Example Sentences

Bryar was born in Chicago, Illinois and studied sound engineering at the University of Florida.

From BBC

Democrats worked around the margins in states they controlled, adding three seats in Illinois, one in Oregon and another in New Mexico.

From Salon

St. John Bosco’s trip to Illinois was completed Saturday night with a 72-62 win over St. Francis Episcopal of Houston in the championship game of the Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions.

From Los Angeles Times

No team in college football has been more dominant since the Irish were upset by Northern Illinois early in the season.

From Los Angeles Times

Several thousand records were sourced on-campus from the Crustacean Collection of the Illinois Natural History Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

From Science Daily