English word origin

Etymology of Miami

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

name

An extinct indigenous people of Florida. · An extinct language spoken by those people. · A city, the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida. · A city, the county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Mayaimi, one of only ten words recorded from the language of the now-extinct Mayaimi people, meaning "big water", referring to the large lake on whose shores they lived, alternately called Lake Miami, Lake Mayimi, Lake Maymi, Lake Maimi; now called Lake Okeechobee. The Florida city is named for the Miami River. The river is named for its source, Lake Miami.

This page abbreviates 4 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "mia:<alt:Mayaimi>"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"Mayaimi\", \"lang_name\" : \"Miami\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang\" : \"mia\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Miami\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Miami\">"
    },
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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "An extinct indigenous people of Florida.",
        "An extinct language spoken by those people.",
        "A city, the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida.",
        "A city, the county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A member of an indigenous North American people of Algonquian stock. · Miami University.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Miami Myaamia, the endonym for the tribe in Miami-Illinois, an Algonquian language.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionMyaamiamia

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mia",
        "3": "Myaamia"
      },
      "expansion": "Miami Myaamia"
    }
  ],
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      "Myaamia",
      "Myaamia#Miami"
    ],
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      "endonym"
    ],
    [
      "Miami-Illinois",
      "Miami-Illinois"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A member of an indigenous North American people of Algonquian stock.",
        "Miami University."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Miami →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-TWlhbWk