Wabash

W4A1B3A1S1H4
US/ˈwɔbæʃ/US/ˈwɑbæʃ/

proper noun

An unincorporated community in Phillips County, Arkansas.

OriginFrench Ouabache ← Miami [Term?] ← Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A number of places in the United States:
    1. An unincorporated community in Phillips County, Arkansas.
    2. A city, the county seat of Wabash County, Indiana.
    3. An unincorporated community in Cass County, Nebraska.
    4. An unincorporated community in Mercer County, Ohio.
    5. A ghost town in Mineral County, West Virginia.
    6. A number of townships in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, listed under Wabash Township.
    7. A river in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, which is a tributary of the Ohio River; in full, the Wabash River.
  2. historicalrail transportThe former Wabash Railroad.

Origin

  1. Proto-Algonquian*wa·p-“(be) white”
  2. Miami[Term?]“it shines white”
  3. FrenchOuabache
  4. EnglishWabash

Via French Ouabache, from Miami [Term?] (“it shines white”), referring to the Wabash River (which has a limestone bed), ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- (“(be) white”).

More words from French, Miami, Proto-Algonquian

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

bashaw
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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