Narragansett
(nærəˈgænsət)
Also Nar(r)haganset, Nar(r)ohiganset(t), etc.
[Algonquian Naiaganset people of the small point (of land).]
1. An Algonquian people orig. living in New England; a member of this people. Also attrib.
| 1622 Relation Eng. Plantation Plimoth, New Eng. 44 They told us that if they were Narrohigganset men they would not trust them. 1637 T. Morton New Eng. Canaan i. xiv. 45 The cause why these other Salvages of the Narohigansets, came into these parts, was to see what strength we were of. 1682 M. Rowlandson Narr. Captivity among Indians 5, I was sold to him by another Narrhaganset Indian. 1764 T. Hutchinson Hist. Colony Mass.-Bay I. 138 At first, the Naragansets gave kind words to the messengers. 1809 ‘D. Knickerbocker’ Hist. N.Y. II. v. iv. 29 He has been secretly endeavoring to instigate the Narrohigansett (or Narraganset)..Indians. 1848 Trans. Amer. Ethnol. Soc. II. i. 77 (table) Families... Algonkins. Languages or Dialects... Narragansets. 1850 R. G. Latham Nat. Hist. Varieties Man 329 Algonkins... Narraganset.—Extinct. In 1674, in Rhode Island. 1871 C. M. Yonge Pioneers & Founders i. 8 The Pequots were..at war..with the Narragansets, or river Indians. 1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. 72 The Algonquian family..includes the languages..of New England (..Narraganset, Mohican, and so on). 1945 C. M. Webster Town Meeting Country 11 The Narragansetts on the west shores of Narragansett Bay. 1951 Hepburn & Logan New England 84/1 The Old Narragansett Church is worth seeing. |
2. In full, Narragansett pacer (or pacing mare): a breed of pacing horse (now extinct) which originated in Rhode Island.
| 1777 J. Adams in J. & A. Adams Familiar Lett. (1876) 272 We are looking about for American curiosities to send across the Atlantic as presents... Narraganset pacing mares, mooses, wood ducks,..have all been thought of. 1809 ‘D. Knickerbocker’ Hist. N.Y. II. vii. iii. 194 A crafty man..bargained him out of his..charger, leaving in place thereof a villainous, spavined, foundered, Narraganset pacer. 1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans I. ii. 18 Giving her Narraganset a smart cut of the whip. 1943 E. Forbes Johnny Tremain 92, I never saw a horse his color before... Narragansett breed. 1946 M. C. Self Horseman's Encycl. 286 A noble breed of horses was developed, namely, the Narragansett Pacer. They are said to have had a smooth gliding motion..and were very popular..with the Virginia plantation owners. 1963 Bloodgood & Santini Horseman's Dict. 144 Pacer... Specifically: a Standardbred pacing horse descended from the Thoroughbred English stallion ‘Messenger’ and from the native, so-called Naragansett pacing mares. |