Nez Perces


Nez Perce

N0091100 (nĕz′ pûrs′, nĕs′) also Nez Per·cé (pər-sā′)n. pl. Nez Perce or Nez Per·ces (pûr′sĭz) also Nez Percé or Nez Per·cés (-sāz′) 1. A member of a Native American people formerly inhabiting the lower Snake River and its tributaries in western Idaho, northeast Oregon, and southeast Washington, with present-day populations in western Idaho and northeast Washington.2. The Sahaptian language of the Nez Perce.
[French Nez-Percé : nez, nose + percé, past participle of percer, to pierce (on the model of Nez Perce cú·pn'itpel'u· : cú·pn'it, piercing + -pel'u·, people, from the nasal septum piercing practiced by the Nez Perce up to the early 1800s ).]