n. pl. Paiuteor Pai·utes also Piute or Pi·ute 1. A member of a Native American people inhabiting eastern Oregon, western Nevada, and adjacent areas of northeast California. Also called Northern Paiute. 2. A member of a Native American people inhabiting southern Utah and Nevada, northern Arizona, and adjacent areas of southeast California. Also called Southern Paiute. [Spanish payuta, alteration (influenced by yuta, Ute; see UTE) of payuchi, payuche, Paiute, perhaps ultimately from Southern Paiute paγïtsiŋwï, fish people, a Southern Paiute band living around Panguitch Lake in southern Utah : paγï(u);-, fish (akin to Hopi paakiw and Shoshone baingwi and probably ultimately from a compound of Proto-Uto-Aztecan *pā-, water and *kïcuC-, fish; compare Cahuilla kíyul, and Yaqui kuchu, fish) + -tsi, noun suffix + -ŋwï, animate plural suffix.] Paiute′ adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.