A papoose (from the Algonquian papoos, meaning "child") is an American English loanword whose present meaning is "a Native American Indian child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in the context of the child's mother. The word came originally from the Narragansett tribe. In 1643 Roger Williams' recorded the word in his A Key Into the Language of America helping to popularize it.[1]
The term is also used when referring to Cradle boards and other child carriers, which were used by Native American Indians and went by many names. In the United States and the United Kingdom, the term papoose is used to refer to a child carrier. [2]