Illinese

I1L1L1I1N1E1S1E1

noun

Synonym of Illinois (“member of the Illinois (Algonquian people)”)

Similar
Scrabble 8

Meanings

nounIllinese (plural Illinese)
  1. obsoleteSynonym of Illinois (“member of the Illinois (Algonquian people)”)

    The banks of this lake [Erie] are frequented by none but warriors, whether the Iroquois, the Illinese, the Oumiamies, etc.; and it is very dangerous to stop there.

    1875, Andrew W. Young, History of Chautauqua County, New York, from its First Settlement to the Present Time, with Numerous Biographical and Family Sketches, Buffalo, page 34; translation of Baron of La Hontan, Voyages, (Please provide a date or year)
    2 more examples

    The Coureurs des Bois have but a very small settlement here; though at the same time it is not inconsiderable, as being the staple of all goods that they truck with the south and the west savages; for they can not avoid passing this way, when they go to the seats of the Illinese and the Oumamis, or to the Bay des Puans, and to the river of Mississippi.

    1880, J. A. van Fleet, Old and New Mackinac, Grand Rapids, page 26

    Of the several bands of the Illinese, who dwelt around the head of the lake and extended along the banks of the Illinois River, the country has long been destitute of a trace, except in those works of defence of a nomadic and predatory people which are still observed in tumuli, ditches, fortified cliffs, and inaccessible defiles which they were expert to occupy.

    1884, Henry R. Schoolcraft, edited by Francis S. Drake, The Indian Tribes of the United States, volume 1, Philadelphia, page 313

    Synonyms: Illinois

adjectiveIllinese (not comparable)
  1. not comparableobsoleteSynonym of Illinois (“of or relating to the Illinois (Algonquian people)”)

    These “Illinese” tribes were of the generic stock of the Algonkins, […]

    1884, Henry R. Schoolcraft, edited by Francis S. Drake, The Indian Tribes of the United States, volume 1, Philadelphia, page 115
    2 more examples

    It is not above half a league distant from the Illinese Lake, [Lake Michigan] an account of which, and, indeed, of all the other lakes, you may expect elsewhere.

    1880, J. A. van Fleet, Old and New Mackinac, Grand Rapids, pages 25–26; translation of Baron of La Hontan, Voyages, (Please provide a date or year)

    […] the Illinese Country, and near the Missisipi^([sic]), the Venereal Distemper is very common.

    1905, Baron of La Hontan, New Voyages to North-America, volume 2, page 465

    Synonyms: Illinois

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSynonym of Illinois (“member of the Illinois (Algonquian people)”)

Similar

adjectiveSynonym of Illinois (“of or relating to the Illinois (Algonquian people)”)

Similar
Also see

Origin

  1. FrenchIllinois
  2. EnglishIllinese

From French Illinois.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Illinese

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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