Manhattan

Meanings

Proper Noun

• An indigenous people of North America who lived in present day New York State.
• ; borough city, New York City New York (state) USA (country), mainly on Manhattan Island, coterminous with New York County.
• ; island New York (state) USA (country)
• city, county seat Riley County (county) Kansas (state) USA (country).

Noun

• A cocktail made from whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters.

Origin

• From the earlier form Manna-hata recorded by Dutch travelers and settlers, from its name in Unami, the local Algonquian language. That name is usually taken to be a compound of Unami mënatay ("island") or Munsee munahan (compare Abenaki manahan) and another element.
• Based on a report by Anthony Heckewelder that the name Manhattan derives from the wooded area whose trees were suitable for making bows, Goddard explains the early forms Manna-hatta(n) and Mannahachtink as spellings of manaháhtaan "place for gathering the wood to make bows" and a related locative form manaháhteenk. compound of Munsee manah- (gather) + -aht (bow) + -aan (place).