Watch our video and learn how to pronounce our name.

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"Quinnipiac," pronounced (KWIN-uh-pe-ack), is an altered version of a Native American word. Theories differ on the word's exact meaning. Some sources, such as "The Quinnipiack Indians and Their Reservation," written in 1900, assert that the name Quinni-pe-auke means "long-water land or country" and that Quinnipiack means "people from the long-water land."

Later sources claim the word Quinnipiac apparently derives from quinnuppin-uk, defined as "a turning point" or "to make a change in the direction of travel."

Both definitions seem appropriate for Quinnipiac, which is near a long tidal river and which marks a turning point in students' lives.