/tah"noh euhn/ , n.
an American Indian language family of which the three surviving languages are spoken in several pueblos, including Taos, in northern New Mexico near the Rio Grande.
[ 1891; coined by J.W. Powell as Tañoan, based on AmerSp Tagno (see -AN; gn misinterpreted as equiv. to Sp ñ ), var. of Tano, ethnic name of Southern Tewa subgroup of Tanoans t h á·nu ]