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Mohawk River

Mohawk River

1 3.9
A river in central New York that flows southeast to join the Hudson River
  • proper noun
: río Mohawk
  • He grew up in Cohoes, up the hill on Younglove Avenue, a half-mile from Harmony Mills, a hulking textile factory along the Mohawk River.

Examples

  • Today, these places, the small and medium-sized towns in the upper Hudson and Mohawk River valleys, stand gutted.

    Blog text (10)
  • Nearly three centuries ago, a group of immigrants fled war and persecution and eventually made a home along New York's Mohawk River.

  • Today, these places, the small and medium-sized towns in the upper Hudson and Mohawk River valleys, stand gutted.

Surface Forms

Morphology

Mohawk + river

This MWE is a compositional place-name: 'Mohawk' (an ethnonym/place name) combined with the noun 'river' yields a river associated with the Mohawk region. A B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a specific river, since the [Place] + river naming pattern is common and directly interpretable.

Etymology

Mohawk River is named after the Mohawk people, the Native American group who lived along its banks and used the river for canoes and trade. That's why this name refers to the river in central New York today.