Chicago (English)

Where does "Chicago" come from?

The English place name 'Chicago' traveled through French as 'Chécagou'[1]. The French term was a transcription of the Miami word 'šikaakwa', which means 'wild leek, ramp, Allium tricoccum; striped skunk'[1]. This Miami term descends from the Proto-Algonquian form '*šeka·kwa'[1]. The ancient Proto-Algonquian root combines elements referring to urination and a bushy-tailed animal, reflecting the musk spraying habits of creatures like the skunk[2]. Consequently, 'Chicago' shares a deep historical doublet relationship with the English word 'skunk'.

Open questions

• The reconstruction of the Proto-Algonquian form '*šeka·kwa' and its etymological components involves linguistic reconstruction. [2] [3]

Full etymology tree

• Chicago (English), 'A large city, the county seat of Cook County, in northeastern Illinois, United States, located on Lake Michigan.'
  • borrowed Chécagou (French)
    • borrowed šikaakwa (Miami), 'the striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis'
      • inherited *šeka·kwa (Proto-Algonquian), 'skunk'
        • suffix *šek- (Proto-Algonquian), 'to urinate'
        • suffix *-a·kw- (Proto-Algonquian), 'bushy-tailed animal (fox?) (compare *wa·kwehsa)'

Ancestors

• šikaakwa (Miami)
• *šeka·kwa (Proto-Algonquian)

Cognates and doublets

• skunk (English)

Descendants and derived words

• Chi (English)
• Chi (English)
• Chi (English)
• Chi (English)
• Chi (English)
• Chicagoan (English)
• Chicagoan (English)
• Chicago atomizer (English)
• Chicago blues (English)
• Chicago Boy (English)
• Chicago dog (English)
• Chicagoese (English)

Related words

• skyscraper (English)
• urban (English)
• municipality (English)

Sources

1. Chicago (English) - Wiktionary
2. šeka·kwa (Proto-Algonquian) - Wiktionary
3. šikaakwa (Miami) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris