Wisconsin

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French Ouisconsin, itself borrowed from an uncertain Native American language. Theories include:

• Miami meeskohsinki or Algonquin meskousing, both meaning "it lies red", the name given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian-speaking American Indian groups living in the region at the time of European contact. "Meskousing" is known from maps drawn by the French from the 1670s onwards, it is believed subsequent transcribers mistook the stylized cursive "M" for "OU".
• Menominee wēskōhsek (“a good place”), from Wēskōhsek Sēpēw ("the river where it is good to live")
• An Ojibwe term, suggestions include miskwasiniig (“red stones”), referring to the red sandstone of the dells of the Wisconsin River; and wiishihkaanhs (“little lodge”), referring to the dwellings of the abundant beavers and muskrats.

A researcher for the State of Wisconsin Historical Society concluded in frustration, "I have not found two Indians to agree on the meaning of this word."

Pronunciation

• (US)
  • (weak vowel merger)
    • IPA^(key): /wəˈskɑnsən/, [wəˈskɑn.sn̩]
    • IPA^(key): /wəsˈkɑnsən/, [wəsˈkʰɑn.sn̩]
    • (with added n) (informal) IPA^(key): /wɪnˈskɑnsən/
  • (weak vowel distinction) IPA^(key): /wɪsˈkɑnsɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Proper noun

Wisconsin

2. A state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States.
   • 2023 August 29, Lauren Dillon, “Doveland, Wisconsin: The Town That Wasn’t There”, in Historic Mysteries‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 May 2026:

     In the heart of Wisconsin there was once a small town called Doveland. But then something strange happened. Doveland disappeared in the 1990s. That is right, an entire town with buildings and residents vanished in thin air and left nothing behind.

   • 2024 February 7, Edward-Isaac Dovere, “Harris set to host Democratic governors this weekend to discuss 2024 campaign”, in CNN‎^[2], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 28 December 2025:

     On the invitation list: Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Tim Walz of Minnesota, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Wes Moore of Maryland and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.

4. A river in the United States that flows from northern Wisconsin into the Mississippi.
5. University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Derived terms

• Sconnie
• WI
• Wisconsin Dells
• Wisconsinesque
• Wisconsinian
• Wisconsinite
• Wisconsin Rapids

Descendants

• → Bengali: উইসকনসিন (uiskonsin)
• → Danish: Wisconsin
• → Esperanto: Viskonsino
• → Finnish: Wisconsin
• → French: Wisconsin
• → German: Wisconsin
• → Italian: Wisconsin
• → Japanese: ウィスコンシン (Wisukonshin)
• → Korean: 위스콘신 (Wiseukonsin)
• → Navajo: Wiskaansin
• → Polish: Wisconsin
• → Portuguese: Wisconsin
• → Thai: วิสคอนซิน (wís-kɔn-sîn)
• → Chinese: 威斯康星 (Wēisīkāngxīng), 威斯康辛 (Wēisīkāngxīn)
  • → Zhuang: Veihswhganghsingh

Translations

state of the United States of America

• Arabic: وِيسْكُنْسِن m (wiskunsin), وِيسْكُونْسِن m (wiskunsin), وِيسْكُونْسِين (wiskunsin)
• Armenian: Վիսկոնսին (Viskonsin)
• Bengali: উইসকনসিন (bn) (uiśoknośin)
• Bulgarian: Уиско́нсин m (Uiskónsin)
• Burmese: ဝစ္စကွန်းဆင် (wacca.kwan:hcang)
• Cherokee: ᏫᏍᎧᏂᏏᏂ (wiskanisini)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 威斯康星 (zh) (Wēisīkāngxīng), 威斯康辛 (zh) (Wēisīkāngxīn)

• Czech: Wisconsin (cs) m
• Danish: Wisconsin
• Esperanto: Viskonsino
• Finnish: Wisconsin (fi)
• French: Ouisconsin (fr), Wisconsin (fr)
• Frisian:

  West Frisian: Wiskonsin

• Galician: Wisconsin (gl) m
• Georgian: ვისკონსინი (visḳonsini), უისკონსინი (uisḳonsini)
• German: Wisconsin (de)
• Greek: Ουισκόνσιν (el) (Ouiskónsin)
• Hebrew: ויסקונסין (he) m (wiskonsin)
• Hindi: विस्कांसिन (viskānsin)
• Italian: Wisconsin (it) m
• Japanese: ウィスコンシン (Wisukonshin)
• Khmer: វីស្កុនស៊ីន (viiskonsiin)
• Korean: 위스콘신 (Wiseukonsin)
• Macedonian: Виско́нсин m (Viskónsin)
• Navajo: Wiskaansin hahoodzo
• Occitan: Wisconsin (oc) m
• Ojibwe: Wiskonsiwakiing, Wazhashkwadoong
• Persian: ویسکانسین
• Polish: Wisconsin (pl) n
• Portuguese: Wisconsin (pt) m
• Russian: Виско́нсин (ru) m (Viskónsin)
• Slovak: Wisconsin m
• Spanish: Wisconsin (es) m
• Thai: วิสคอนซิน (wís-kɔn-sîn)
• Turkish: Wisconsin
• Ukrainian: Віско́нсин m (Viskónsyn)
• Urdu: وسکونسن
• Walloon: Wisconsene (wa)
• Yiddish: וויסקאָנסין (viskonsin)
• Zhuang: Veihswhganghsingh

Further reading

• Wisconsin on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English Wisconsin.

Proper noun

Wisconsin (genitive Wisconsins)

1. Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

Finnish

Etymology

From English Wisconsin, itself a borrowing from French Ouisconsin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwiskonsin/, [ˈwis̠ko̞ns̠in]
• Rhymes: -iskonsin

Proper noun

Wisconsin

1. Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

Declension

Inflection of Wisconsin (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		Wisconsin	—
genitive		Wisconsinin	—
partitive		Wisconsinia	—
illative		Wisconsiniin	—
		singular	plural
nominative		Wisconsin	—
accusative	nom.	Wisconsin	—
	gen.	Wisconsinin
genitive		Wisconsinin	—
partitive		Wisconsinia	—
inessive		Wisconsinissa	—
elative		Wisconsinista	—
illative		Wisconsiniin	—
adessive		Wisconsinilla	—
ablative		Wisconsinilta	—
allative		Wisconsinille	—
essive		Wisconsinina	—
translative		Wisconsiniksi	—
abessive		Wisconsinitta	—
instructive		—	—
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of Wisconsin (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Wisconsinini — accusative nom. Wisconsinini — gen. Wisconsinini genitive Wisconsinini — partitive Wisconsiniani — inessive Wisconsinissani — elative Wisconsinistani — illative Wisconsiniini — adessive Wisconsinillani — ablative Wisconsiniltani — allative Wisconsinilleni — essive Wisconsininani — translative Wisconsinikseni — abessive Wisconsinittani — instructive — — comitative — — second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Wisconsinisi — accusative nom. Wisconsinisi — gen. Wisconsinisi genitive Wisconsinisi — partitive Wisconsiniasi — inessive Wisconsinissasi — elative Wisconsinistasi — illative Wisconsiniisi — adessive Wisconsinillasi — ablative Wisconsiniltasi — allative Wisconsinillesi — essive Wisconsininasi — translative Wisconsiniksesi — abessive Wisconsinittasi — instructive — — comitative — — first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Wisconsinimme — accusative nom. Wisconsinimme — gen. Wisconsinimme genitive Wisconsinimme — partitive Wisconsiniamme — inessive Wisconsinissamme — elative Wisconsinistamme — illative Wisconsiniimme — adessive Wisconsinillamme — ablative Wisconsiniltamme — allative Wisconsinillemme — essive Wisconsininamme — translative Wisconsiniksemme — abessive Wisconsinittamme — instructive — — comitative — — second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Wisconsininne — accusative nom. Wisconsininne — gen. Wisconsininne genitive Wisconsininne — partitive Wisconsinianne — inessive Wisconsinissanne — elative Wisconsinistanne — illative Wisconsiniinne — adessive Wisconsinillanne — ablative Wisconsiniltanne — allative Wisconsinillenne — essive Wisconsininanne — translative Wisconsiniksenne — abessive Wisconsinittanne — instructive — — comitative — — third-person possessor singular plural nominative Wisconsininsa — accusative nom. Wisconsininsa — gen. Wisconsininsa genitive Wisconsininsa — partitive Wisconsiniaan Wisconsiniansa — inessive Wisconsinissaan Wisconsinissansa — elative Wisconsinistaan Wisconsinistansa — illative Wisconsiniinsa — adessive Wisconsinillaan Wisconsinillansa — ablative Wisconsiniltaan Wisconsiniltansa — allative Wisconsinilleen Wisconsinillensa — essive Wisconsininaan Wisconsininansa — translative Wisconsinikseen Wisconsiniksensa — abessive Wisconsinittaan Wisconsinittansa — instructive — — comitative — —

French

Wisconsin

Etymology

From English Wisconsin, itself a borrowing from French Ouisconsin.

Pronunciation

• (France) IPA^(key): /wis.kɔn.sin/, (rare) /wis.kɔ̃.sɛ̃/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /wis.kõ.sẽ/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Proper noun

Wisconsin m

1. Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

German

Etymology

From English Wisconsin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɪsˈkɔn.sɪn/, /wɪsˈkɔn.sɪn/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Proper noun

Wisconsin n (proper noun, genitive Wisconsins or (optionally with an article) Wisconsin)

1. Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Wisconsin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wisˈkɔn.sin/
• Rhymes: -ɔnsin
• Hyphenation: Wi‧scòn‧sin

Proper noun

Wisconsin m

1. Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Algonquin miskwà

Algonquin -hšine

Algonquin -ig

Algonquin meskousingbor.?

Miami miskw-

Miami -ihsin

Miami -ki

Miami meeskohsinkibor.?

French Ouisconsinbor.

English Wisconsinubor.

Polish Wisconsin

Unadapted borrowing from English Wisconsin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wisˈkɔn.sin/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔnsin
• Syllabification: Wis‧con‧sin

Proper noun

Wisconsin n (indeclinable)

1. Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

   pieczęć Wisconsin ― seal of Wisconsin

   Symbolem stanu Wisconsin jest borsuk. ― The state symbol of Wisconsin is the badger.

2. Wisconsin (a river in the United States that flows from northern Wisconsin into the Mississippi)

   Rzeka Wisconsin uchodzi do Missisipi. ― The Minnesota River flows into the Mississippi.

Further reading

• “Wisconsin”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Algonquin miskwà

Algonquin -hšine

Algonquin -ig

Algonquin meskousingbor.?

Miami miskw-

Miami -ihsin

Miami -ki

Miami meeskohsinkibor.?

French Ouisconsinbor.

English Wisconsinubor.

Portuguese Wisconsin

Unadapted borrowing from English Wisconsin.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /wisˈkõ.sĩ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /wisˈkõ.sĩ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /wiʃˈkõ.sĩ/

Proper noun

Wisconsin m (demonym wisconsiniano)

1. Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)
2. Wisconsin (a river in the United States that flows from northern Wisconsin into the Mississippi)

See also

states of the United States: estados dos Estados Unidosedit

• Alabama
• Alasca
• Arizona
• Arkansas ~ Arcansas
• Califórnia
• Carolina do Norte
• Carolina do Sul
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Dacota do Norte
• Dacota do Sul
• Delaware
• Flórida
• Geórgia
• Havaí (Brazil) ~ Havai (Portugal)
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas ~ Cansas
• Kentucky
• Luisiana
• Maine
• Maryland ~ Marilândia
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi ~ Mississípi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebrasca
• Nevada
• Nova Hampshire
• Nova Iorque
• Nova Jérsei (Brazil) ~ Nova Jérsia (Portugal)
• Novo México
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pensilvânia
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virgínia
• Virgínia Ocidental
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Algonquin miskwà

Algonquin -hšine

Algonquin -ig

Algonquin meskousingbor.?

Miami miskw-

Miami -ihsin

Miami -ki

Miami meeskohsinkibor.?

French Ouisconsinbor.

English Wisconsinbor.

Spanish Wisconsin

Borrowed from English Wisconsin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wisˈkonsin/ [wisˈkõn.sĩn]
• Rhymes: -onsin
• Syllabification: Wis‧con‧sin

Proper noun

Wisconsin m (demonym wisconsinés)

1. Wisconsin (a state in the Upper Midwest region of the United States)

See also

states of the United States: estados de Estados Unidosedit

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Carolina del Norte
• Carolina del Sur
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Dakota del Norte
• Dakota del Sur
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawái
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Luisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Misisipí / Misisipi
• Misuri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• Nueva Hampshire
• Nueva Jersey
• Nueva York
• Nuevo México
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregón
• Pensilvania
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Virginia Occidental
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming