Gitche Gumee

Gitche Gumee

English

Alternative forms

• Gichi Gami
• Gichigami
• Kitchi Gami

Etymology

From Ojibwe gichigami (“big lake”).

Proper noun

Gitche Gumee

1. (colloquial) Lake Superior.
   • 1909, James Anson Farrer, Invasion and Conscription: Some Letters from a Mere Civilian to a Famous General

     But this presents no difficulty to “Gitche Gumee,” for the German weather forecasts could easily enable the force to choose a period of calm or of favourable winds.

   • 1974-05-27, Sports Illustrated, https://www.si.com/vault/1974/05/27/614719/off-the-shores-of-gitche-gumee

     OFF THE SHORES OF GITCHE GUMEE (article title)

   • 1976, Gordon Lightfoot, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”:

     The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down / Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.

   • 2012, Bradley Carlson, Wisconsin 1 Step at a Time: Taking Steps to Trample Muscular Dystrophy, iUniverse →ISBN, page 111

     The Race to Lake Gitche Gumee Begins

   • 2014, Jennifer Billock, Keweenaw County, Arcadia Publishing →ISBN, page 69

     Perhaps the most well known is Gitche Gumee. Long before settlers arrived in Keweenaw County, the Ojibwa gave the great lake this name, translating to “big water.”