Karankawa

K5A1R1A1N1K5A1W4A1

noun

an Indigenous nation from modern southern Texas

Originxcm klam kakáwa →
Scrabble 20
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounKarankawa (plural Karankawas or Karankawa)

plural Karankawas

  1. anthropologyan Indigenous nation from modern southern Texas
  2. a linguistic group from the same origin
  3. a member of such nation or group
  4. human sciencesthe language of that people

Origin

  1. xcmklam kakáwa“dog raisers”
  2. EnglishKarankawa

Uncertain. Albert S Gatschet proposed it is derived or directly borrowed from Comecrudo klam kakáwa (“dog raisers”, literally “dog lovers”), from klam (“dog”) + kakáwa (“they love”, plural of kawa (“to love, be fond of”)).

More words from xcm

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French Karankawa
  • KarankawaTranslations
Spanish karankawa, carancagua
  • karankawaTranslations
  • carancaguaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

Karankawa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Karankawa

MLA

“Karankawa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Karankawa. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Karankawa,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Karankawa.

Source: Karankawa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.