Word
illinois
Phoneticsilli·nois
/ˌɪɫəˈnɔɪ/
Definitions
01U.S. state
n. a state in the Midwestern United States, home to the city of Chicago.
n. a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States, admitted to the Union in 1818.
“Many people travel to Illinois every year to visit the museums in Chicago.”
“Illinois serves as a major transportation hub for the United States, with Chicago's O'Hare International Airport being one of the busiest in the world.”
American English
Synonyms
02Native American people
n. a group of Native American tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley.
n. a confederation of Algonquian-speaking Native American tribes originally inhabiting the upper Mississippi River Valley.
“The state was named after the Illinois people who lived on that land.”
“Historical accounts of the Illinois confederacy describe a complex social structure that was significantly impacted by European expansion in the seventeenth century.”
American English · Technical
Synonyms
03relating to the state or people
adj. related to the state of Illinois or the Illinois people.
adj. pertaining to the U.S. state of Illinois, its inhabitants, or the indigenous Illinois Confederacy.
“The Illinois governor signed a new law regarding public schools yesterday.”
“The Illinois prairie landscape was once dominated by tallgrass ecosystems before the widespread adoption of industrial farming practices.”
American English
Etymology
From French Illinois, an adaptation of an Algonquian (perhaps Ojibwe) name derived from Miami ilenweewa (“he speaks the regular way”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/illinois