U.S. territory created 1809; name is from a native Algonquian people who called themselves Inoca (1725), also written Ilinouek, Old Ottawa for "ordinary speaker." The modern form represents a 17c. French spelling, pronounced "ilinwe" at that time. Admitted as a state 1818.
State in the north-central United States bordered on the north by Wisconsin, the east by Indiana, the south by Kentucky, and the west by Missouri and Iowa. Its capital is Springfield, and its largest city is Chicago.
Note: Known as the “Land of Lincoln” because Abraham Lincoln began his political career there.