Slavey

Meaning

Proper Noun

• An Athabascan First Nations people indigenous to the region near the Great Slave Lake in western Canada
• A language spoken by the Slavey peoples.

Origin

• From French Esclave, a calque of a Cree name, as the Cree called these people (and several other traditional enemies) slaves. In English, the final e came to be pronounced as if Slave were a native name; this pronunciation was first written Slavé and later Slavey.
• The names of the Slave River, Lesser Slave River, Great Slave Lake and Lesser Slave Lake do not necessarily derive from the people now known as Slavey in English.