Cherokees

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Members of an indigenous North American nation originally from the southeastern United States, now largely based in Oklahoma and North Carolina
2. Indigenous people of the southeastern United States who share the Cherokee language and cultural heritage across several tribal nations
3. The individuals belonging to the Native American tribal nations that trace their origins to the Appalachian region of the southeastern United States

Etymology: The Cherokee people call themselves ᏣᎳᎩ (tsalagi), and most scholars think the name given to them by outsiders grew from that word. Other proposed sources are less certain. One suggestion traces it to a Choctaw term meaning "those who live in caves," and the Iroquois called the Cherokee Oyata'ge'ronon, "inhabitants of the cave country," which lends some support to that idea. A third proposal links it to a Creek phrase meaning "people who speak a non-Creek language." The name entered European languages early, perhaps as early as the 1670s, and by 1755 Spanish speakers were using the form "Tchalaquei." Whatever its source, the name was in circulation long before English-speaking settlers standardized the spelling "Cherokee."