The origin of the word “Oregon” is still a mystery, but not for lack of trying. Historians and linguists have offered up several possible solutions, though no definitive answer exists. The first reference to a similar word appears on a 1715 French map naming the Wisconsin River as “Ouaricon-sint.” The French also referred to the Columbia River, which borders northern Oregon, as “Le Fleuve aux Ouragans” (“Hurricane River”). Other theories for the origin of the term connect it to the herb oregano (although the reason for the link is unclear), Aragon (a French synonym for Spain), or a portmanteau of the Shoshone words ogwa, meaning “river,” and pe-on, meaning “west.” But the leading theory comes from a 1765 proposal to King George III from a colonial major named Robert Rogers, asking for funds to find the elusive Northwest Passage by means of exploring “the River called by the Indians Ouragon.” The word “ouragon” was likely derived from the Mohegan word wauregan, meaning “the beautiful.” Originally, the Mohegans, a tribe based in Connecticut, used the word to describe the Allegheny-Ohio River, but Rogers’ experience using Mohegans as troops during the French and Indian War (1754–1763) possibly influenced his description of a watery pathway to the Pacific, perhaps because he thought using a transplanted but “authentic” Indigenous name would strengthen his request for funds. |
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