Meaning & use
Abenaki
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A member of a Native American people of what is now New England and southeastern Canada.
Grammar: Countable for a person; the plural is usually 'Abenaki' or 'Abenakis'.
Patterns
- a group of Abenaki
- the Abenaki people
Her grandmother was Abenaki and grew up near the Maine border.
Several Abenaki still speak the traditional language today.
noununcountable
The Algonquian language traditionally spoken by this people.
Grammar: Uncountable when it means the language: 'She speaks Abenaki.'
Patterns
- speak Abenaki
- in Abenaki
The sign is written in both English and Abenaki.
He is learning Abenaki from recordings made in the 1960s.
adjectivebefore a noun
Belonging to or connected with the Abenaki people or their language.
Grammar: Comes before a noun and is not usually compared.
Patterns
- Abenaki culture
- Abenaki territory
The museum has a small Abenaki basket collection.
She studies Abenaki history at the university.
Word forms
| plural | Abenaki |
|---|---|
| plural | Abenakis |
Common combinations
- Abenaki language
- Fewer than a hundred people speak the Abenaki language fluently.
- Abenaki people
- The Abenaki people have lived in this region for thousands of years.
- Abenaki basket
- An Abenaki basket made of black ash stood on the shelf.
- Abenaki territory
- The river once marked the edge of Abenaki territory.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Wabanaki
- A broader grouping that includes the Abenaki along with several neighboring peoples, so it is not an exact equivalent.
- Algonquian
- Names the large language family that Abenaki belongs to, not the people themselves.
Word family
- Abenakis noun
- The plural form used for several members of the people.
Commonly confused: Abenaki or Abnaki?
Abenaki vs Abnaki
An older spelling of the same name; 'Abenaki' is the form used today in most writing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Abenaki' correctly?
Choose one answer.
As a language name, 'Abenaki' is uncountable and takes no article, so 'speaks Abenaki' is right. 'Abenakis' is only used for several people, and 'an Abenaki' would mean a single person, not the language.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Abenaki”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.