Chipewyan

enUK

Chip·e·wy·an

C0306300 (chĭp′ə-wī′ən)n. pl. Chipewyan or Chip·e·wy·ans 1. A member of a Native American people made up of numerous autonomous bands inhabiting a large area of northern Canada north of the Churchill River. Formerly nomadic caribou hunters, the Chipewyan became settled fur traders during the 18th century.2. The Athabaskan language of the Chipewyan.

[Cree čīpwayān, parka wearer : cīpw-, pointed + ayān, skin.]

Chip•e•wy•an

(ˌtʃɪp əˈwaɪ ən)

n., pl. -ans, (esp. collectively) -an. 1. a member of an American Indian people of subarctic Canada, living in scattered communities from Hudson Bay W to Great Slave Lake and NE Alberta. 2. the Athabaskan language of the Chipewyan.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Chipewyan - a member of the Athapaskan people living in western Canada between Great Slave Lake and Hudson BayAthabaskan, Athapascan, Athapaskan, Athabascan - a member of any of the North American Indian groups speaking an Athapaskan language and living in the subarctic regions of western Canada and central Alaska
	2.	Chipewyan - the language spoken by the ChipewyanChippewaian, ChippewyanAthabascan, Athapaskan language, Athabaskan, Athapascan, Athapaskan - a group of Amerindian languages (the name coined by an American anthropologist, Edward Sapir)

Chipewyan

(chĭp'əwī`ən), Native North Americans of the AthabascanAthabascan
, Athapascan,
or Athapaskan
, group of related Native American languages forming a branch of the Nadene linguistic family or stock. In the preconquest period, Athabascan was a large and extensive group of tongues.
..... Click the link for more information. branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see also Native American languagesNative American languages,
languages of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere and their descendants. A number of the Native American languages that were spoken at the time of the European arrival in the New World in the late 15th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Formerly the largest of the Athabascan groups, scattered Chipewyan bands ranged W Canada between Great Slave Lake and the Churchill River. They were nomadic hunters and gatherers who lived in small groups of extended families, following the seasonal migration of caribou herds. The Chipewyan were in rivalry with the Woodland Cree; eventually their numbers were severely reduced by smallpox. They are not to be confused with the Chippewa or Ojibwa. In 1991 close to 10,000 Chipewyan were living in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.

Chipewyan

Related to Chipewyan: Fort Chipewyan

noun

Synonyms for Chipewyan

noun a member of the Athapaskan people living in western Canada between Great Slave Lake and Hudson Bay

Related Words

Athabaskan
Athapascan
Athapaskan
Athabascan

noun the language spoken by the Chipewyan

Synonyms

Chippewaian
Chippewyan

Related Words

Athabascan
Athapaskan language
Athabaskan
Athapascan
Athapaskan