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From Wikipedia’s history of Des Moines.
Des Moines takes its name from Fort Des Moines (1843–46), which was named for the Des Moines River. This was adopted from the name given by French colonists. Des Moines (pronounced [de mwan] ; formerly [de mwɛn]) translates literally to either "from the monks" or "of the monks" from French.
Moines is an abbreviation used by the French for Moingouena, an Algonquian subgroup. The Native American term is mooyiinkweena, and it was a derogatory name applied to the Moingouenas by the Peorias, another subgroup, meaning shit-face.
ChaptersEtymologyPrehistoric inhabitants of early Des MoinesOrigin of Fort Des MoinesEarly settlementEra of growth"City Beautiful" project, decline and rebirth
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
1878
