Erie language

Erie was believed to have been an Iroquoian language spoken by the Erie people, similar to Wyandot. But it was poorly documented, and linguists are not certain that this conclusion is correct. There have been few connections with Europeans and the Erie's with the French, and Dutch being peaceful, while the English being mostly hostile.

The names Erie and Eriez are shortened forms of Erielhonan, meaning "long tail", referring to local panthers. The Erie were called the "Cat people" (Nation du Chat in French; Hodge 1910, Swanton).

At least one loanword survives from the Erie language: Chautauqua, a word of uncertain definition/translation.