Ilocano

noun

Ilo·​ca·​no ˌē-lə-ˈkä-(ˌ)nō How to pronounce Ilocano (audio)
ˌi-
variants or Ilokano
plural Ilocano or Ilocanos or Ilokano or Ilokanos
1
: a member of a major people of northern Luzon in the Philippines
2
: the Austronesian language of the Ilocano people

Examples of Ilocano in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Others have also helped organize translators for Ilocano, another language that is particularly common among immigrants in Lahaina, spoken in the Ilocos region of the Philippines, where men had historically been recruited to work on plantations in Hawaii. Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 7 Sep. 2023 My parents spoke Ilocano and Spanish at home, but also spoke English. Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Ilocano was in 1898

Dictionary Entries Near Ilocano

Cite this Entry

“Ilocano.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ilocano. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on Ilocano

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!