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Sioux

(s)

n. pl. Sioux (s, sz)

1. A member of a group of Native American peoples, comprising the Lakota, the Santee, the Yankton, and the Yanktonai, inhabiting the northern Great Plains from Minnesota to eastern Montana and from southern Saskatchewan to Nebraska. Present-day Sioux populations are located mainly in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Nebraska.

2. Any of the Siouan languages of the Sioux peoples.

[North American French, short for nadouéssioux, from Ottawa na·towe·ssiwak, plural of na·towe·ssi, Sioux person, from Proto-Algonquian *na·towe·wa, northern Iroquoian, probably from *-a·towe·, to speak a foreign language.]

Sioux adj.

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:

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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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