mackinaw

Meaning

Noun

• A heavy woolen cloth.
• A blanket made of wool, formerly distributed to the Amerindians by the U.S. government.
• A flat-bottomed cargo boat; mackinaw boat.

Origin

• Respelling of Mackinac, a strait between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, an island in the strait, and an important trading-post on the island; ultimately from Ojibwe mishinii-makinaang.