Arawaks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An indigenous people originally inhabiting the Caribbean islands and parts of northern South America, known for their distinct language and cultural traditions including farming and fishing
2. Native inhabitants of the Caribbean region and northern parts of South America, historically recognized for their unique social organization, language family, and early contact with European explorers
3. A group of aboriginal peoples from the Caribbean and nearby mainland areas, distinguished by their linguistic roots and traditional lifestyle involving agriculture and navigation

Etymology: "Arawaks" is the plural of "Arawak", a name that belongs to a people rather than to a single language or place, and it reached English from the Caribbean itself. The word comes from Kari'na "Aruwako", the name used by the Kari'na (Carib) people for their neighbours, and that name in turn derives from "Lokono", the self-designation of the people now usually called the Lokono. The name was carried into European languages through contact in the Caribbean and northern South America, so the word records how outsiders labelled the people they met rather than how the people described themselves. Because "Arawak" was a term applied from outside, it covers a large and varied group of communities spread across the Caribbean islands and the South American mainland, linked by related languages rather than by any single political identity. The plural "arawaks" simply counts separate members of that group as individuals, so it refers to the peoples collectively.

Synonyms: indigenous people, native Americans, Caribs, Tainos