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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

lacing
n
cut out lacing
waazhaabii vai s/he cuts out lacing

lacing cut from a hide
waazhaabaan ni cut-out lacing

lacrosse
n
lacrosse
baaga'adowewin ni the game of lacrosse, playing lacrosse

play lacrosse
baaga'adowe vai s/he plays lacrosse

lacrosse player
n
lacrosse player
baaga'adowewinini na a lacrosse player

lacrosse stick
n
lacrosse stick
baaga'adowaan ni a lacrosse stick

baaga'adowaanaatig ni a lacrosse stick

ladder
n
ladder
akwaandawaagan ni something to climb up on or in: a stairway, a ladder, an elevator

ladle
n
ladle
emikwaan ni a ladle; a spoon

gichi-emikwaan ni a ladle

mitigwemikwaan ni a wooden spoon, a wooden ladle

See also: mitigo-emikwaan ni

mitigo-emikwaan ni a wooden spoon, a wooden ladle

See also: mitigwemikwaan ni

soup ladle
naboobii-emikwaan ni a soup ladle

lady
n
lady
ikwe na
  1. a woman, a lady
  2. a queen (card)

zazegaa-ikwe na a fine woman, a lady; a woman who is well-dressed, good-looking, well-mannered

old lady
mindimooyenh na an old woman, an old lady

mindimooyenyiwi vai she is an old woman, is an old lady

lair
n
lair
waazh ni a den, a lair, a cave, a burrow

See also: waanzh ni

waanzh ni a den, a lair, a cave, a burrow

See also: waazh ni

lake
n
lake
zaaga'igan ni a lake

gichigami ni
  1. a sea, a large lake
  2. Lake Superior

across the lake
agaaming adv loc on the other side of a body of water (a lake, a river), across a body of water (a lake, a river)

agaami-zaaga'igan adv loc across the lake

at the lake
agamiing adv loc at the lake; at the water; on the shore

by the lake
jiigi-zaaga'igan adv loc by the lake

chain of lakes
aanikegamaa vii it is a chain of lakes

great lake
gichigami ni
  1. a sea, a large lake
  2. Lake Superior

halfway across lake
aabitawagaam adv loc halfway across the lake

lake goes off from another
bakegamaa vii lake goes off from another

lake water
zaaga'iganiiwaabo ni [BL] lake water

long lake
ginoogamaa vii it is a long lake

middle of the lake
naawagaam adv loc in the middle of the lake

See also: naanaawagaam adv loc

other side of the lake
agaaming adv loc on the other side of a body of water (a lake, a river), across a body of water (a lake, a river)

agaami-zaaga'igan adv loc across the lake

out in the lake
naawij adv loc out in the lake

round lake
waawiyegamaa vii it is a round lake

sandy lake
mitaawangaagamaa vii it is a sandy lake

sharp bend in lake
biskigamaa vii the lake has a sharp bend in it

walk around a lake
giiwitaayaazhagaame vai s/he walks around a lake; s/he walks around the edge

water from the lake
zaaga'iganiiwaabo ni [BL] lake water

wide lake
mangadegamaa vii it is a wide lake

lake herring
[fish]
n
lake herring

The Ojibwe People's Dictionary is developed and maintained by:
Nora Livesay, Editor
John D. Nichols, Founder and Linguistic Editor

with support and collaboration from the University of Minnesota's Department of American Indian Studies and University Libraries.

Additional Resources

Many of the words in the Ojibwe People's Dictionary have related resources. Click through to the full dictionary entry to hear audio recordings, see images, read documents and watch videos. Here's a key to resource icons.

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Speakers & Regions Key

Individual speakers and speakers from different regions use different words when speaking. Each audio recording is marked with the initials of the Ojibwe speaker. Click on a speaker's initials to go to the speaker's bio page. If an Ojibwe word is particular to a certain region, it will be marked with a region code. Click on the region code to go to the Regions page.