Book excerpt: This dictionary of Native American places was originally published in 1909. Alphabetically arranged by Native American name, this reference work gives insight into the Native origins of Massachusetts cities, towns, rivers, streams, lakes, and other locales. The current state of Massachusetts retains the name of the once inhabiting tribe, although its people were decimated by illness and disorganized by warfare around 1617. Massachusetts is a word meaning ""a hill in the form of an arrow-head.""