Minnesota

Min·ne·so·ta  (mn-st) Abbr. MN or Minn.

A state of the northern United States bordering on Lake Superior and on Manitoba and Ontario, Canada. It was admitted as the 32nd state in 1858. First explored by the French in the mid-17th century, the area became part of the United States through the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the Louisiana Purchase (1803). St. Paul is the capital and Minneapolis the largest city. Population: 5,200,000.

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Minne·sotan adj. & n.

Word History: Minnesotans may tell you that Minnesota in Sioux means "10,000 lakes," and they may attempt to prove it by pointing to the motto on their license plates. Minnesota in Sioux actually means "cloudy water," an accurate description of the Minnesota River. Another popular etymology of a similar-sounding Indian name has Minnehaha meaning "laughing waters." It doesn't; it means "waterfalls." The misinterpretation began around 1849 when European settlers, not unreasonably, assumed that the Siouan -haha was an imitation of laughter just as in English, and hence that minnehaha meant "laughing waters." The folk etymology caught on and wound up in 1855 as the name of the heroine in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha.

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Minnesota [ˌmɪnɪˈsəʊtə]

n

1. (Placename) a state of the N central US: chief US producer of iron ore. Capital: St Paul. Pop.: 4 919 479 (2000). Area: 218 600 sq. km (84 402 sq. miles) Abbreviations Minn (with zip code), MN

2. (Placename) a river in S Minnesota, flowing southeast and northeast to the Mississippi River near St Paul. Length: 534 km (332 miles)

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Minnesota - a midwestern state                   Gopher State, North Star State, MN middle west, Midwest, midwestern United States - the north central region of the United States (sometimes called the heartland or the breadbasket of America) Voyageurs National Park - a national park in Minnesota having ancient rock outcroppings and evergreen forests U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776 Bemidji - a town in northern Minnesota Duluth - a city in northeast Minnesota on Lake Superior Hibbing - a town in northeastern Minnesota in the Mesabi Range Mankato - a town in southern Minnesota Minneapolis - largest city in Minnesota; located in southeastern Minnesota on the Mississippi river; noted for flour mills; one of the Twin Cities Rochester - a town in southeast Minnesota Saint Cloud, St. Cloud - a town in central Minnesota on the Mississippi River; granite quarries capital of Minnesota, St. Paul, Saint Paul - capital of the state of Minnesota; located in southeastern Minnesota on the Mississippi river adjacent to Minneapolis; one of the Twin Cities Twin Cities - nickname for Saint Paul and Minneapolis Virginia - a town in northeastern Minnesota in the heart of the Mesabi Range Little Sioux River - a river that rises in southwestern Minnesota and flows southwestward to the Missouri River in western Iowa Mesabi Range - a range of hills in northeastern Minnesota where rich iron ore deposits were discovered in 1887