Allamakee

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English

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Etymology

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The origin of the name is uncertain, with local lore ascribing it to a Native American trader named Allan Makee[1] and other sources suggesting that it derives from an Algonquian language term for the Thunder clan of the Sac/Fox people; compare Fox nenemehkiwa (thunder) and Ojibwe animikii (thunderer) (alternation of l and n is common in Algonquian languages and in words borrowed into or from them).[2]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /æ.lə.mə.ki/, /ɑ.lə.mə.ki/

Proper noun

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Allamakee

  1. The northeastern-most county in the state of Iowa in the United States.

References

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  1. ^ Henry Gannett, in The origin of certain place names in the United States, writes "the Iowa Historical Society says it was named for Allen Makee, an Indian trader"
  2. ^ William Bright, Native American Placenames of the United States