Iowan

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A person born in or living in the American state of Iowa in the Midwest ; of or relating to Iowa, its people, or its culture
2. Someone who comes from Iowa, the agricultural state in the American Midwest ; describing things connected with the state of Iowa or its residents
3. A native or resident of Iowa in the central United States ; characteristic of or belonging to the state of Iowa

Etymology: The name Iowa goes back to the Dakota word "ayúxba," meaning "the sleepy ones" or "drowsy ones," a name the Dakota people gave to the Iowa people, from whom the state takes its name. French explorers and mapmakers wrote it as "Aiouez," and the form "Iowa" entered English from there. The state was named for the people, not the other way around. "Iowan" is a simple formation: the place name "Iowa" plus the suffix "-an," which English inherited through Old French from Latin "-ānus," a suffix meaning belonging to or associated with. The same ending appears in words like "American" and "Lutheran," which follow the same pattern of naming a person by their place or group. Used as a noun, the word denotes a person from Iowa; as an adjective, it describes things belonging to the state.