Athabasca
name
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 A lake in Alberta, Canada.
- 2 A river in Alberta, Canada, which flows into Lake Athabasca.
- 3 A town in Alberta, Canada, on the Athabasca River. Formerly "Athabasca Landing"
Etymology
From Woods Cree/Cree Ahđapaskâw. Compare to Plains Cree ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑯᐢᑳᐤ (“there are many reeds”) or Cree ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑳᐤ (aaniskowaskaaw, “it is full of reeds”), from ᐋᓂᐢᑯᐘᐢᑿ (aaniskowaskwa, “reeds, bullrushes”). Doublet of Arthabaska, Quebec, from Abenaki awabaska (“place of bushes and reeds”). The Cree name originally applied to the lake, and the river delta (the world's largest inland freshwater delta) and was borrowed into French and English by fur traders. The river was named by extension, and the town's name is clipping of "Athabasca Landing". The Cree name for the town is ᑲᐹᐏᓂᕁ (kapaawinihk, “portage, landing, disembarkation”).