Where does “Squaw Valley” come from?

Squaw Valley (English) comes from English valley, from Middle English valeye, from Old French valee, from Old French val, from Latin vallis, from Proto-Indo-European wēlH-, from Proto-Indo-European welH- — to turn, to wind.

Squaw Valley (English): The 1960 Winter Olympics, held at the ski resort

Definitions

  1. The 1960 Winter Olympics, held at the ski resort

Ancestry of “Squaw Valley”, step by step

Squaw Valley traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English valley

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishvalleyAn elongated depression between hills or...
2Middle Englishvaleyevalley depression between hills
3Old Frenchvaleevalley
4Old Frenchvalvalley
5Latinvallisvalley, vale; hollow; dative plural of vāllum
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanwēlH-to roll, to undulate
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanwelH-to turn, to wind

via English squaw

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsquawA woman, wife; especially a Native American woman
2Massachusettsquàwwoman
3Proto-Algonquian*eθkwe·wa
Every word from Proto-Indo-European welH-