It could mean “hilly island.” Or “the place where timber is procured for bows and arrows.” Or, perhaps the label that even works today: “Island where we all become intoxicated.”

Anthropologist Robert S. Grumet believes the simplest translation of Manhattan is probably the best: “Island.”

But “who doesn’t like a place name that means so many things to so many people?” he says.

That’s part of what attracted Grumet to study the Native American origins of our city and location titles, some of which he’s collected in a new book, “Manhattan to Minisink” (University of Oklahoma Press).

From Lackawanna to Kisco, Grumet, a former archaeologist with the National Park Service, explores the likely meaning among the local tribes and the story behind how they became the names of the places we know today. More.

See: New York Post