HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

Chey·enne¹

(shī-ĕn, -ăn)

n. pl. Cheyenneor Chey·ennes

1. A member of a Native American people, divided after 1832 into the Northern and Southern Cheyenne, inhabiting respectively southeast Montana and southern Colorado, with present-day populations in Montana and Oklahoma. The Cheyenne became nomadic buffalo hunters after migrating to the Great Plains in the 18th century and figured prominently in the resistance by Plains Indians to white encroachment.

2. The Algonquian language of the Cheyenne.

[Canadian French, from Dakota Šahíyela; akin to Lakota Šahíyela, Cheyenne : Lakota Šahíya, Cree (the Lakota word possibly being of Algonquian origin and originally referring to other Algonquian peoples; compare Cheyenne S´hea'eo'o, Ojibwe) + Lakota -la, diminutive suffix (equivalent to Dakota -na).]

Chey·enne adj.

Chey·enne²

(shī-ăn, -ĕn)

The capital of Wyoming, in the southeast part of the state near the Nebraska and Colorado borders. It was founded in 1867 as a division point for the Union Pacific Railroad.

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.

American Heritage Dictionary Products

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

American Heritage Dictionary Products