What is the origin of the word Cherokee?

The word Cherokee is associated with some tribes of native North American Indians, who earlier inhabited the Appalachian mountains , but are now scattered to the south eastern states of US.

It refers to a member of this tribe or to their language. People of Cherokee called themselves Tsalagi, meaning principal people. Anglicization of all words such as the above resulted in the word Cherokee, which has been in use since the late 17th century.