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Del·a·ware¹

(dĕlə-wâr′)

n. pl. Delaware or Del·a·wares

1. A member of a group of closely related Native American peoples formerly inhabiting the Delaware and Hudson river valleys and the area between, with present-day populations in Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Ontario. The Delaware formed a variety of political alliances in their westward migration after losing their lands to white settlement in the 1600s and 1700s. Also called Lenape, Lenni Lenape.

2. Either of two closely related Algonquian languages, Munsee and Unami, historically spoken by this people.

[After the Delaware River.]

Del′a·ware·an adj.

Del·a·ware²

(dĕlə-wâr′) Abbr. DE or Del.

A state of the eastern United States on the Atlantic Ocean. One of the original Thirteen Colonies, it was settled by the Dutch in 1631 and by Swedes in 1638, passing to England in 1664. It was part of William Penn's Pennsylvania grant from 1682 until 1776. In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the United States Constitution. Dover is the capital and Wilmington the largest city.

Del·a·ware³

(dĕlə-wâr′)

A variety of grape having sweet, light red fruit.

[After Delaware².]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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