Type Political Subdivision & River
Usage English
Meaning & History
The name of an American river and state, appearing in European sources from the 16th-century in spellings such as Alibamu. It is derived from the name of the Alabama people, a Native American tribe, called Albaamaha in the Alabama language. The tribal name might be from the related Choctaw language meaning "plant gatherers", from ạlba "plants, herbs" and ạmo "to reap, to gather, to cut".