DCHP-2

squaw † [< Algonk.; cf. Cree iskwāo woman] DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 1 n.

  an Indian woman, especially a wife.

  • Although squaw is the normal and acceptable English term for an Indian woman, it is used in some contexts, especially by white men, with derogatory connotations. Moreover, the term is often resented by Indians who are not Algonkian-speaking, for it is to them an English word, one having no significance in their own languages.

• 2 n.

  an Eskimo woman.

• 3 n. — Fig., Derog.

  See quote.