Chemehuevi

noun

Chem·​e·​hue·​vi

ˌcheməˈwāvē

plural Chemehuevi or Chemehuevis

1

a

: a Shoshonean people resident in the lower Colorado river valley and adjacent parts of California in the nineteenth century

b

: a member of such people

2

: the language of the Chemehuevi people

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from American Spanish, earlier (18th-century) Chemebet, Chemeguaba, Chemegué, probably borrowed from a name for the Chemehuevi in a Yuman language, as modern Havasupai čmwav, Quechan (Yuma) camawé·v

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