Pamunkey

noun

Pa·​mun·​key pə-ˈməŋ-kē 

plural Pamunkey or Pamunkeys

: a member of an Algonquian-speaking people of Virginia formerly part of the Powhatan confederacy

Examples of Pamunkey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes are remnants of the great Powhatan Confederacy that greeted the earliest English settlers. —Andrew Sharp, Outdoor Life, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from a Virginia Algonquian name of uncertain meaning and origin

Note: Early variants of the name are Pamaunck (John Smith), Pamonke (Robert Tindall's 1608 map), Pamunky (William Strachey, 1611).

First Known Use

1624, in the meaning defined above