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Nez Perce

(nĕz pûrs, nĕs) also Nez Per·cé (pər-sā)

n. pl. Nez Perce or Nez Per·ces (pûrsĭz) also Nez Percé or Nez Per·cés (-sāz)

1. A member of a Native American people formerly inhabiting the lower Snake River and its tributaries in western Idaho, northeast Oregon, and southeast Washington, with present-day populations in western Idaho and northeast Washington.

2. The Sahaptian language of the Nez Perce.

[French Nez-Percé : nez, nose + percé, past participle of percer, to pierce (on the model of Nez Perce cú·pn'itpel'u· : cú·pn'it, piercing + -pel'u·, people, from the nasal septum piercing practiced by the Nez Perce up to the early 1800s ).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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