What does the tribal name Iroquois mean?

Answer 1

Io, derived from the word wiyo, means good to the Seneca and great to the Tuscarora. Now, the word tends to be translated as beautiful (as in Ohio - beautiful river) but originally it meant great. There are various spellings of the word such as wiio and yiio.

Answer 2

Iroquois is not a Mohawk word, it derives from Huron irinakhoiw meaning "black snake". The French were unable to pronounce this word correctly and mangled it into Iroquois. Websites stating that irinakhoiw comes from an Algonquian language are mistaken.

Answer 3

There is no single "Iroquois language" - each of the Iroquois tribes spoke their own language and all are part of the Iroquoian language family, together with Erie, Huron, Cherokee and others.

In the Oneida language, the word element -athwenot-means community; the element -kwÊŒhlal- means a settlement, sect, group or community.

In Cayuga, the word gana:daˀ means a town, settlement or community. This appears in Mohawk as kaná:ta' with the meaning of "town" or "settlement". This word is the origin of the English word "Canada".

Answer 4

Losely translated from english, which before that was translated from French, which they learned from a tribe called theæ Algonkian. The word Iroquoi means Real Snakes.æIt is believed that the word was supposed to be an insult from the Algonkian.æ

Answer 5

The tribal name Iroqois means Tribe Of Fiery It got it's name by Dr.Densel B. Fredrickson. Whom studied the Iroqois Indians for over 15 years.