Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

athabasca

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.37 in modern English

Syllables
athabas-ca
IPA
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A lake in Alberta, Canada.

name

A river in Alberta, Canada, which flows into Lake Athabasca.

name

A town in Alberta, Canada, on the Athabasca River. Formerly "Athabasca Landing"

Etymology

From Woods Cree/Cree Ahđapaskâw. Compare to Plains Cree ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑯᐢᑳᐤ (“there are many reeds”) or Cree ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑳᐤ (aaniskowaskaaw, “it is full of reeds”), from ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑿ (aaniskowaskwa, “reeds, bullrushes”). Doublet of Arthabaska, Quebec, from Abenaki awabaska (“place of bushes and reeds”). The Cree name originally applied to the lake, and the river delta (the world's largest inland freshwater delta) and was borrowed into French and English by fur traders. The river was named by extension, and the town's name is clipping of "Athabasca Landing". The Cree name for the town is ᑲᐹᐏᓂᕁ (kapaawinihk, “portage, landing, disembarkation”).

Word Breakdown

  • Root: -, Ahđapaskâw

Inflected Forms

Athabaska (alternative)

Derived Forms

athabascaite Athabascan

Phrases

Athabasca County Athabasca oil sands Athabasca tar sands

Synonyms

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabaska Athabasca River Athabaska River Athabasca Landing Athabaska Landing

Questions

What does athabasca mean?
A lake in Alberta, Canada.
Where does athabasca come from?
From Woods Cree/Cree Ahđapaskâw. Compare to Plains Cree ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑯᐢᑳᐤ (“there are many reeds”) or Cree ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑳᐤ (aaniskowaskaaw, “it is full of reeds”), from ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑿ (aaniskowaskwa, “reeds, bullrushes”). Doublet of Arthabaska, Quebec, from Abenaki awabaska (“place of bushes and reeds”). The Cree name originally applied to the lake, and the river delta (the world's largest inland freshwater delta) and was borrowed into French and English by fur traders. The river was named by extension, and the town's name is clipping of "Athabasca Landing". The Cree name for the town is ᑲᐹᐏᓂᕁ (kapaawinihk, “portage, landing, disembarkation”).

How to pronounce athabasca

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