массачусеты, название индейского племени.
Group of North American Indian tribes, now extinct, in the 17th century inhabiting the area around Massachusetts Bay and northward, and after whom the bay and colony were named. The word "Massachuset" (the name of the Indian tribe) is supposedly derived from two words: "massa" meaning "great", and "wachusett" signifing a "mountain place".
Америка через американизмы. — М.: «Высшая школа». Г.Д. Томахин. 1982.