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Meaning & History
The state is named for the French adaptation of an Algonquian language (perhaps Miami) word apparently meaning "speaks normally" (cf. Miami ilenweewa, Old Ottawa ilinoüek, Proto-Algonquian elen-, "ordinary" and -we·, "to speak"), referring to the Illiniwek (Illinois) people. This word was altered by the French to Illinois for the name of the U.S. state.