[Gowanus]—Gowanus, 1639; Gowanes, 1641; Gouwanes, 1672—the name of one of the boundmarks of a tract of land in Brooklyn, is probably from Koua (Kowaw, Williams; Curve, Zeisb.), "Pine"; Kowawese (Williams), "A young pine," or small pine. It was that of a place on a small stream, the description in the Indian deed of 1639, reading: "Stretching southward to a certain kil or little low bushes." The land conveyed is described as being "overflowed at every tide, and covered with salt-meadow grass." The latter gave to it its value. The claim that the name was that of an Indian owner is not well sustained. The evidence of the Dutch description of the bay as Boompje Hoek, meaning, literally, "Small tree cape, corner or angle," and the fact that small pines did abound there, seems to establish Koua as the derivative of the name.
[Marechkawick,] treaty of 1645—Mereckawack, Breeden Raddt, 1649; Mareckawick and Marechkawieck, Rapelie deed, 1630; Marechkourick, O'Callaghan; Marechkawick, Brodhead—forms of the name primarily given as that of Wallabout Bay, [FN] "The bought or bend of Marechkawick"—"in the bend of Marechkawick," 1630—has been translated by Dr. Tooker from Men'achk (Manachk, Zeisb.), "fence, fort," and -wik, "house" (Zeisb.), the reference being to a fenced or palisaded cabin presumably occupied by a sachem and his family of the clan known in Dutch history as the Mareckawicks. The existence of a palisaded cabin in the vicinity of "the bought or bend" is possible, but the name has the appearance of an orthography (Dutch) of Mereca, the South-American name of a teal, (Mereca Americani) the Widgeon, and -wick (Wijk, M. L. G.), "Bay, cove, inlet, retreat," etc., literally "Widgeon Bay." "Situate on the bay of Merechkawick," is entered on map of 1646 in Stiles' "History of Brooklyn." Merica was the Mayan name of the American Continent. It is spread all over South America and was applied to many objects as in the Latinized Mereca Americani. The early Dutch navigators were no doubt familiar with it in application to the Widgeon, a species of wild duck, and employed it in connection with the word -wijk. Until between 1645 and 1656, the Indians residing on the west end of Long Island were known as Marechkawicks; after 1656 they were called Canorise. (See Canar'sie.) Brooklyn is from Dutch Breukelen, the name of a village about eighteen miles from Amsterdam. It means "Broken land." (Breuk.) On Van der Donck's map the name is written correctly. A record description reads: "There is much broken land here."
[FN] Wallabout Bay takes its first name from Dutch Waal, "gulf, abyss," etc., and Bocht, "bend," It was spoken of colloquially by the early Dutch as "The bay of the foreigners," referring to the Walloons who had settled on the north side of the bay in 1625. The first white child, Sarah Rapelie, born in New Netherland, now the State of New York, was born here June 17th, 1625.
[Manette,] so written of record—"near Mannato hill," about thirty miles from Brooklyn and midway between the north and south sides of the island—has been interpreted from its equivalent, Manitou, "Hill of the Great Spirit," but means strictly, "That which surpasses, or is more than ordinary." (Trumbull.) It was a word in common use by the Indians in application to everything that was more than ordinary or that they could not understand. In this instance it seems to have been applied to the water of a spring or well on the rising ground which they regarded as of surpassing excellence; from the spring transferred to the hill. The tradition is that some ages ago the Indians residing in the vicinity of the hill were suffering for water. They prayed to the Great Spirit for relief, and were directed to shoot an arrow in the air and where it fell to dig and they would find water. They did so and dug the well now on the rising ground, the water of which was of surpassing excellence, or Manitou. The story was probably invented to account for the name. It is harmless fiction.
[Rennaquakonck,] Rinnegahonck, a landmark so called in the boundaries of a tract on Wallabout Bay, described in deed as "A certain swamp where the water runs over the stones," and, in a subsequent deed, "At the sweet marsh" (Hist. of Brooklyn), is an orthography of Winnegackonck, meaning "At the sweet place," so called from some plant which was found there, or to distinguish the marsh as fresh or sweet, not a salt marsh. The exchange of R and W may be again noted.
[Comac,] the name of a village in Suffolk County, is an apheresis of Winne-comac, as appears of record. The combination expresses, "Good enclosed place," from Winne, "Good, fine, sweet, beautiful, pleasant," etc., and -komuck, "Place enclosed," or having definite boundaries, limited in size.
[Nyack,] the name of the site of Fort Hamilton, is a generic verbal from Nâï, "A point or corner." (Nâïag, Mass., Néïak, Len.) The orthographies vary—Naywayack, Narrack, Nanak, Narrag, Najack, Niuck, Narrioch, etc. With the suffix -ak, the name means "Land or place at the point." (See Nyack-on-the-Hudson.) Dankers and Sluyter wrote in their Journal (1679-80): "We went part of the way through the woods and fine, new-made land, and so along the shore to the west end of the island called Najack. . . . Continuing onward from there, we came to the plantation of the Najack Indians, which was planted with maize, or Turkish Wheat." The Nayacks removed to Staten Island after the sale of their lands at New Utrecht. (See Narrioch.)
[Nissequague,] now so written, the name of a hamlet in Smithtown, and of record as the name of a river and of a neck of land still so known, is of primary record Nisinckqueg-hackey (Dutch notation), as the name of a place to which the Matinnecock clan removed after the war of 1643. (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiv, 60.) The English scribes wrote Nesequake (1650), Nesaquake (1665), Nessequack (1686), Wissiquack (1704), (Cal. N. Y. Land Papers), and other forms. The Indian deed of 1650 (Smithtown Records) recites the sale by "Nasseoonseke, sachem of Nesequake," of a tract "Beginning at a river called and commonly known by the name of Nesaquake River, and from that river eastward to a river called Memanusack." "Nesaquauke River" is the entry in patent to Richard Smith, 1665. The stream has its source in a number of springs in the southern part of Smithtown, the flow of which forms a considerable river. (Thompson.) The theory that "The tribe and river derived their name from Nesequake, an Indian sagamore, the father of Nassaconset" (Hist. Suf. Co.), is not well sustained. The suffix -set, cannot be applied to an animate object; it is a locative meaning "Less than at." In addition to this objection, Nassaconset is otherwise written Nessaquauke-ecoompt-set, showing that the name belonged to a place that was "On the other side" of Nessaquauke. Neesaquauke stands for Neese-saqû-auke, from Nisse, "two," Sauk, "Outlet," and -auke, "Land" or place, and describes a place at "the second outlet," or as the text reads, "At a river called and commonly known by the name of Nesaquake River." The sagamore may have been given the name from the place, but the place could not have taken the name from the sagamore. The estuary, now known as Nissequage Harbor into which the stream flows, extends far inland and forms the west boundary of Nissequage Neck.
[Marsepinck,] a stream so called in Queens County, from which extended to the land which was sold, in 1639, by "Mechowout, chief sachem of Marossepinck, Sint-Sink and dependencies," and also extended to an Indian clan known as Marsepings, is no doubt an orthography of Massepe and -ing, locative. It means "At, to or on the great river." Mas is an abbreviation of Massa, Missi, etc., "great," and Sepe, means "river." It was probably used comparatively-the largest compared with some other stream. (See Massepe.)