Conestoga
//ˌkɒnəˈstəʊɡə// name, noun
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Synonym of Susquehannock, a member of a North Iroquoian people formerly living in Pennsylvania and Maryland. historical
- 2 a large wagon with broad wheels and an arched canvas top; used by the United States pioneers to cross the prairies in the 19th century wordnet
- 3 A type of draft horse developed in Pennsylvania. historical
- 4 Ellipsis of Conestoga wagon. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, historical
"Conestoga axles creaked under their loads as the barrels of molasses and bacon and meal rattled in the wagon beds."
Proper Noun
- 1 A river in Pennsylvania, United States.
Example
More examples"Conestoga axles creaked under their loads as the barrels of molasses and bacon and meal rattled in the wagon beds."
Etymology
From Susquehannock kanahstó:ke (the name of a settlement, now Conestoga, Pennsylvania). According to Mithun, British colonists based the name on the Mohawk word tekanastoge (“place of the upright pole”). It may also be the anglicized form of Gandastogue, which may have been close to what the Susquehannock called themselves.
Related phrases
More for "conestoga"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.