Word
navajo
Phoneticsnava·jo
/ˈnævəˌhoʊ/
Definition
n. a member of a Native American people from the Southwestern United States. It also refers to the language they speak.
n. a member of a Native American people of the Southwestern United States, or the Athabaskan language spoken by them. When referring to the people, it is often used as a collective plural.
Examples
“She is learning to speak Navajo.”
“The Navajo Nation is the largest land area held by a Native American tribe in the United States.”
“During World War II, the military recruited Navajo speakers to serve as code talkers because their complex language was undecipherable to enemy forces.”
Examples
simple
“She is learning to speak Navajo.”
contextual
“The Navajo Nation is the largest land area held by a Native American tribe in the United States.”
complex
“During World War II, the military recruited Navajo speakers to serve as code talkers because their complex language was undecipherable to enemy forces.”
Usage
When referring to the people, the plural can be 'Navajo' or 'Navajos'. Always capitalized as it is a proper name.
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish navajo, from Tewa navahu (“field adjoining an arroyo”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.