arawak
|a-ra-wak|
/əˈrɑːwæk/
indigenous Caribbean people
Etymology
'arawak' originates from an indigenous Caribbean/Arawakan source, recorded in early Spanish accounts in the 16th century (forms such as 'Arauac'/'Arawac'), where the name referred to particular groups of people in the Lesser Antilles and adjacent mainland.
'arawak' was recorded by Spanish and Portuguese chroniclers in the 1500s (e.g. 'Arauac'/'Arawac') and entered English usage via these early accounts and later ethnographic literature as 'Arawak'/'arawak'.
Initially, it referred specifically to certain indigenous groups encountered by Europeans; over time it has been used more broadly for related peoples and the Arawakan language family.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a member of an indigenous people of northern South America and the Caribbean (often used for the peoples historically encountered in the Greater Antilles and the Guianas).
Arawak communities cultivated cassava and maintained extensive trade networks before European contact.
Synonyms
Noun 2
any of the languages of the Arawakan language family (sometimes called Arawak languages).
Scholars study arawak dialects to trace migration patterns across the Caribbean and Amazon.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/02 10:24