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1. Avocado
Root language: Nahuatl
Region: Mexico
From the word huacatl meaning "testicle."
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2. Barbecue
Root language: Arawakan
Region: South America
From the word barbakoa meaning "framework of sticks."
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3. Bayou
Root language: Choctaw
From the word bayuk meaning "creek, river."
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4. Cannibal
Root language: Cariban
From the word "karípona" meaning "person." Early Spanish explorers believed that the Caribs ate people. -
5. Canoe
Root language: Arawakan Taino
From the word "canoa." via -
6. Caribou
Root language: Algonquin
From the word qalipu meaning "snow shoveler."
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7. Cashew
Root language: Tupi Guaraní
From the word acaîu
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8. Cayenne
Root language: Tupi Guaraní
From the word: kyinha
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9. Chili
Root language: Nahuatl
From the word ch+lli
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10. Chipmunk
Root language: Algonquin
Originally "chitmunk," from the Odawa word jidmoonh meaning "red squirrel."
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11. Chocolate
Root language: Nahuatl
Comes from the words xococ -"bitter", and tl - "water."
In its traditional form, chocolate was primarily served as an unsweetened drink.
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12. Cocoa
Root language: Nahuatl
From the word cacahuatl.
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13. Condor
Root language: Quechua
From the word kuntur
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14. Cougar
Root language: Tupi Guaraní
A corruption of guaçu ara.
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15. Coyote
Root language: Nahuatl
From the word coyMtl
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16. Guacamole
Root language: Nahuatl
From huacamMlli meaning "avocado sauce."
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17. Hammock
Root language: Arawakan
From Taino via Spanish hamaca.
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18. Hickory
Root language: Algonquin-Powhatan
From pocohiquara meaning "milky drink made with hickory nuts." Today hickory can refer to the tree, the finished wood, the nuts, or even the flavor. -
19. Hooch
Root language: Tlingit
A shortened form of Hoochinoo, from the word xutsnuuwú, originally the name of a village meaning "brown bear fort. -
20. Hurricane
Root language: Arawakan - Taino
From the word hurakán.
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21. Husky
Root language: Algonquin
A variant of the word Eskimo from the Innu language word aiachkimeou.
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22. Iguana
Root language: Arawakan
From the word iwana
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23. Jaguar
Root language: Tupi Guaraní
From the word jaÈwar
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24. Jerky
Root language: Quechua
From the word ch'arki
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25. Kayak
Root languages: Eskimo-Aleut
From the word qajaq.
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26. Llama
Root language: Quechua
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27. Manatee
Root language: Cariban
From a word meaning "woman's breast." -
28. Moose
Root language: Algonquin
From Eastern Abenaki moz
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29. Ocelot
Root language: Nahuatl
From a href= oclMtl. -
30. Opossum
Root language: Algonquin
From the Powhatan word aposoum meaning, "white dog-like animal." -
31. Pecan
Root language: Algonquin
From the Illinois word pakani.
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32. Petunia
Root language: Tupi Guaraní
From the word petun meaning "smoke."
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33. Potato
Root language: Arawakan
Via the Haitian Carib word batata.
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34. Puma
Root language: Quechua
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35. Raccoon
Root language: Algonquin
From the word arahkun.
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36. Skunk
Root language: Algonquin
From the Massachusett word squnck meaning "urine fox."
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37. Squash
Root language: Algonquin
From the Narragansett word askútasquash.
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38. Tapioca
Root language: Tupi Guaraní
From a word meaning "juice squeezed out" the word is now applied to the root starch and the pudding made from it.
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39. Toboggan
Root language: Algonquin
From Míkmaq word topaaqan meaning "to drag with a cord." Today the word primarily refers to the sled throughout most of the United States. However, in some southern states where it doesn't snow enough for sledding, the word has become a regional slang for the type of hat one would wear in cold weather, such as a knit stocking cap. Via -
40. Toucan
Root language: TupiGuaraní
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41. Tomato
Root language: Nahuatl
From the word tomatl.
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42. Woodchuck
Root language: Algonquin
A corruption of the word ockqutchaun.
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