Editing Minnesota (section)

== Etymology ==

The word ''Minnesota'' comes from the [[Dakota language|Dakota]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 11, 2015 |title=Good Question: How Did Minnesota Get Its Name? |url=https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/05/11/good-question-how-did-minnesota-get-its-name/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716234507/https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/05/11/good-question-how-did-minnesota-get-its-name/ |archive-date=July 16, 2019 |access-date=September 9, 2019 |website=CBS Minnesota}}</ref> name for the [[Minnesota River]], which got its name from one of two words in Dakota: "{{Lang|dak|mní sóta}}", which means "clear blue water",<ref>New Lakota dictionary. Lakota Language Consortium (2008).</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://filemaker.cla.umn.edu/dakota/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=1630 |title=Mnisota |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002143839/https://filemaker.cla.umn.edu/dakota/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=1630 |archive-date=October 2, 2013 |work=Dakota Dictionary Online |publisher=University of Minnesota Department of American Indian Studies |date=2010 |access-date=October 6, 2016}}</ref> or "{{Lang|dak|Mníssota}}", which means "cloudy water".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://filemaker.cla.umn.edu/dakota/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=1631 |title=Mnisota |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525200616/https://filemaker.cla.umn.edu/dakota/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=1631 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |work=Dakota Dictionary Online |publisher=University of Minnesota Department of American Indian Studies |date=2010 |access-date=October 6, 2016}}</ref><ref name="mnhs-name">{{cite web | title = Minnesota State | publisher = Minnesota Historical Society | url = http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/otheritem.cfm?PlaceNameID=2007&BookCodeID=67&County=0&SendingPage=Results.cfm | access-date = April 26, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070901215624/http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/otheritem.cfm?PlaceNameID=2007&BookCodeID=67&County=0&SendingPage=Results.cfm | archive-date = September 1, 2007 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Early explorers interpreted the Dakota name for the Minnesota River in different ways, and four spellings of the state's name were considered before settling on "Minnesota" in 1849, when the Territory of Minnesota was formed.<ref>{{cite web | title=Origin and History of the Minnesota Place Name |last=Sandy | first=John H. |date=January 4, 2024 | url = https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/13032 | access-date = 2024-01-25 }}</ref> [[Dakota people]] demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it ''{{Lang|dak|mní sóta}}''.<ref name="mnhs-name" />

Many places in the state have similar Dakota names, such as [[Minnehaha Falls]] ("curling water" or waterfall), [[Minneiska, Minnesota|Minneiska]] ("white water"), [[Minneota, Minnesota|Minneota]] ("much water"), [[Lake Minnetonka|Minnetonka]] ("big water"), [[Minnetrista, Minnesota|Minnetrista]] ("crooked water"), and Minneapolis, a [[hybrid word]] combining Dakota ''{{Lang|dak|mní}}'' ("water") and ''-{{Lang|el-latn|polis}}'' ([[Greek language|Greek]] for "city").<ref>{{cite web | title = Minnehaha Creek | publisher = Minnesota Historical Society | url = http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/Waterway.cfm?PlaceNameID=2002&BookCodeID=9&County=27&SendingPage=Results.cfm | access-date = April 26, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110430112357/http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/Waterway.cfm?PlaceNameID=2002&BookCodeID=9&County=27&SendingPage=Results.cfm | archive-date = April 30, 2011 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> The [[Seal of Minnesota|state seal]] features the phrase {{lang|dak|Mni Sóta Makoce}} ("the land where the water reflects the skies"), the Dakota name for the larger region.<ref>{{cite news|title= How to pronounce 'Mni Sóta Makoce,' the Dakota phrase that will be on the new state seal |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/12/15/how-to-pronounce-mni-sta-makoce-the-dakota-phrase-that-will-be-on-the-new-state-seal |last=Olson |first=Melissa |date=15 December 2023 |access-date=14 May 2024}}</ref>