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Illinois1 definition

Illi·nois (il′ə no̵i′; occas., -no̵iz′)

noun

  1. pl. Illinois Il′li·nois′ a member of a confederacy of North American Indian peoples that lived in N Illinois, S Wisconsin, and parts of Iowa and Missouri
  2. the Algonquian language of this people

Etymology: see Illinois

Illinois2 definition

Illi·nois (il′ə no̵i′; occas., -no̵iz′)

  1. Midwestern state of the U.S.: admitted, 1818; 55,584 sq mi (143,961 sq km); pop. 12,419,000; cap. Springfield: abbrev. IL or Ill
  2. river in Ill., flowing from southwest of Chicago into the Mississippi, near St. Louis: c. 273 mi (439 km)

Etymology: Fr, earlier also Ilinoués < name in an unidentified Algonquian language: perhaps orig. meaning ordinary speaker

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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