Miwok

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A Native American people indigenous to central California, living in the Sierra Nevada foothills and nearby valleys ; the Utian language family spoken by these communities and their neighbors
2. An indigenous Californian people traditionally living around the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley ; the related group of Penutian languages once spoken across that region
3. A California tribal people whose members historically inhabited the foothills and valleys of central California ; the Utian languages that were used by those communities

Etymology: The name "Miwok" is itself the word for "the people" in the languages of the peoples who bear it. It comes from "miwok," the self-designation used by these communities in their own Utian language, so the name was not coined by outsiders but taken from the speakers' own words for themselves. The Miwok live in central California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills and the valleys that lie near them. Their name also covers the wider Utian language family, which takes its name from the Utian group of languages spoken by the Miwok and their neighbors. Because one word names both a people and a language family, "Miwok" can refer to either a community or a set of related tongues depending on context.