Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Indigenous languages ·1670s
Hickory
from pocohiquara
- Meaning
- A North American tree of the walnut family, and its wood.
- Source word
- pocohiquara
- Route into English
- Powhatan (Algonquian) *pocohiquara* (a milky drink made from the nut) → English via Virginia colonists. English kept the *-iquara* ending and dropped the front; the same tree was formerly called "pohickory."
- Arrived
- 1670s
From Indigenous languages
A loose group: Nahuatl, Taino, Algonquian, Guugu Yimithirr, and others. Colonial contact produced many loans; the speakers were often systematically dispossessed of the land the loanwords described.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.