Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

squaw

/skwɔː/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.68 in modern English

Syllables
squaw
IPA
/skwɔː/
17
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A woman, wife; especially a Native American woman.

Offensive

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Massachusett squàw (“woman”), from Proto-Algonquian *eθkwe·wa (“(young) woman”). Cognate with Abenaki -skwa (“female, wife”), Mohegan-Pequot sqá, Cree iskwew / ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (iskeyw, “woman”), Ojibwe ikwe (“woman”). In the 1970s, some non-linguists began to claim that the word originally meant vagina; this has been discredited. The first English attestation of the word is found in a book called Mourt’s Relation: A Journey of the Pilgrims at Plymouth written in 1622, where the "squa sachim or Massachusets Queen" is mentioned in a journal entry from September 20, 1621.

Word Breakdown

  • Root: squàw, *eθkwe·wa

Usage

Inflected Forms

squaws (plural)

Derived Forms

oldsquaw squawberry squawbush squawdom squawfish squawlike squawroot squawvine squawweed

Phrases

squaw candy squaw carpet squaw dress squaw flower Squaw Grove squaw huckleberry squaw man squaw mint

Rhymes With

law saw draw raw swing saw aw shaw withdraw straw jaw thoughtful awe

Questions

How do you pronounce squaw?
The recorded pronunciation is /skwɔː/.
What does squaw mean?
A woman, wife; especially a Native American woman.
Where does squaw come from?
From Massachusett squàw (“woman”), from Proto-Algonquian *eθkwe·wa (“(young) woman”). Cognate with Abenaki -skwa (“female, wife”), Mohegan-Pequot sqá, Cree iskwew / ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (iskeyw, “woman”), Ojibwe ikwe (“woman”). In the 1970s, some non-linguists began to claim that the word originally meant vagina; this has been discredited. The first English attestation of the word is found in a book called Mourt’s Relation: A Journey of the Pilgrims at Plymouth written in 1622, where the "squa sachim or Massachusets Queen" is mentioned in a journal entry from September 20, 1621.

How to pronounce squaw

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “squaw”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/skwɔː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “squaw”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “squaw” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.