seneca
seneca — noun
- senecasingular
- senecasplural
1. a Native American people whose traditional homeland lay in what is now New York
a Native American people whose traditional homeland lay in what is now New York State. The Seneca are the largest member nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and are known as the 'Keepers of the Western Door.'
The Seneca originally lived in villages surrounded by wooden walls near the Finger Lakes.
collocation: the Seneca + verb of location
Professor Williams spent twelve years studying the oral history of the Seneca.
The Seneca were called the 'Keepers of the Western Door' within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
A museum exhibit tracing Seneca history through four centuries opened in Buffalo last spring.
Elders from the Seneca Nation Council travelled to Ottawa for the Indigenous leaders' summit.
文法句型
the + Seneca + plural verb
Seneca + singular verb (collective)
用法筆記
Collective-noun usage: Seneca takes a plural verb when referring to the people as a political or cultural group ('the Seneca are…'), parallel to 'the police are…' or 'the staff are…' in British English.
常見錯誤
2. an individual belonging to any Seneca community, including those currently resid
an individual belonging to any Seneca community, including those currently residing in New York, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
Each Seneca who attended the ceremony wore beaded regalia passed down through their family.
pattern: each + Seneca + who-clause
A young Seneca from the Cattaraugus Reservation won a national poetry competition last year.
countable: a + Seneca + location
The artist is a Seneca who uses traditional corn-husk weaving in her contemporary sculptures.
Many Seneca now live in urban areas while maintaining strong ties to their reservation communities.
Grandmother was a Seneca midwife who delivered babies on the Allegany Reservation for thirty years.
文法句型
a + Seneca + singular verb
Seneca + plural verb
用法筆記
The plural of 'a Seneca' is most commonly 'Seneca' (zero plural), e.g. 'several Seneca'. The form 'Senecas' is less frequent and may sound dated or overly formal in modern English.
常見錯誤
3. the Iroquoian language traditionally spoken by the Seneca people. Today it is an
the Iroquoian language traditionally spoken by the Seneca people. Today it is an endangered language with only a small number of fluent speakers remaining.
Linguist Dr. Chen is recording Seneca grammar before the last fluent speakers are gone.
collocation: record / document + Seneca
Fewer than fifty people speak Seneca as their first language today.
collocation: speak Seneca as [one's] first language
A new digital dictionary of Seneca was launched by the tribal language programme in 2023.
Children at the Salamanca school learn songs in Seneca during culture class every week.
The word for 'thank you' in Seneca is 'nyá:wëh', which appears often in daily conversation.
文法句型
speak + Seneca
in + Seneca
Seneca + language / grammar / dictionary
用法筆記
Seneca belongs to the Northern Iroquoian branch of the Iroquoian language family, closely related to Cayuga, Onondaga, and Mohawk.