teepee

English

Alternative forms

• tepee, tipi

Etymology 1

From the Lakota word thípi (/ˈtʰipi/), which consists of two elements: the verb thí (“to dwell”), and pi, a pluralising enclitic (a suffix-like ending that marks the subject of the verb as plural), which means "they dwell". Lakota verbs can be used as nouns and this is the case with thípi, which in practice just means "house".

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtiːpi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːpi
• Homophone: tipi

Noun

teepee (plural teepees)

A teepee.

1. A cone-shaped tent traditionally used by many native peoples of the Great Plains of North America.
2. A conical formation of small flammable sticks leaning on each other, in roughly the shape of an Indian teepee, built over smaller tinder such as cotton or leaves.

Translations

cone-shaped tent

• Apache:

  Western Apache: kuughá

• Bulgarian: вигвам m (vigvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 梯皮 (tīpí)

• Danish: tipi c
• Esperanto: tipio
• Finnish: tiipii (fi)
• French: tipi (fr) m
• German: Tipi (de) n
• Indonesian: tipi (id)
• Japanese: ティピー (tipī)
• Lakota: thípi
• Pashto: تيپي f (tipi)
• Polish: tipi (pl) n
• Romanian: tepee f
• Spanish: tipi m
• Swedish: tipi c
• Turkish: tipi (tr)

See also

• traditional Native American dwellings:
  • hogan (used by the Navajo in the southwestern United States)
  • igloo (used by the Inuit, made of snow)
  • teepee (used in the Great Plains)
  • tupik (used by the Inuit during the summer)
  • wetu (used by the Wampanoag in the northeastern United States)
  • wickiup (used in the southwestern and western United States)
  • wigwam (used in the northeastern United States)
• lavvu (traditional Sami dwelling)

Etymology 2

Verb

teepee (third-person singular simple present teepees, present participle teepeeing, simple past and past participle teepeed)

1. Alternative form of TP (“to cover with toilet paper”)

Noun

teepee (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of TP (“toilet paper”)