Pamunkey

noun

Pa·​mun·​key pə-ˈməŋ-kē 

plural Pamunkey or Pamunkeys

: a member of an Algonquian-speaking people of Virginia formerly part of the Powhatan confederacy

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from a Virginia Algonquian name of uncertain meaning and origin

Note: Early variants of the name are Pamaunck (John Smith), Pamonke (Robert Tindall's 1608 map), Pamunky (William Strachey, 1611).

First Known Use

1624, in the meaning defined above