Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
Slavey en · NOUN
Pronunciation
/ˈsleɪvi/
Etymology
From French Esclave, a calque of a Cree name, as the Cree called these people (and several other traditional enemies) slaves. In English, the final e came to be pronounced as if Slave were a native name; this pronunciation was first written Slavé and later Slavey.
The names of the Slave River, Lesser Slave River, Great Slave Lake and Lesser Slave Lake do not necessarily derive from the people now known as Slavey in English.
Meanings
A member of an Athabascan First Nations people indigenous to the region near the Great Slave Lake in western Canada
From French Esclave, a calque of a Cree name, as the Cree called these people (and several other traditional enemies) slaves. In English, the final e came to be pronounced as if Slave were a native name; this pronunciation was first written Slavé and later Slavey.
The names of the Slave River, Lesser Slave River, Great Slave Lake and Lesser Slave Lake do not necessarily derive from the people now known as Slavey in English.
Meanings
A language spoken by the Slavey peoples.
In the Northwest Territories, the languages with official status are English, French, Dëne Sųłıné (Chipewyan), Nēhiyawēwin (Cree), Dene Kǝdǝ́ (Northern Slavey), Dene Zhatıé (Southern Slavey), Dinjii Zhu’ Ginjik (Gwich’in), Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun and Tłįcho. 2025, Marie-Ève Hudon, Language regimes in the Provinces and the Territories, Ottawa, Canada: Library of Parliament, page 30: