[nar-uh-gan-sit] 
) -sett. | 1. | a member of a North American Indian tribe of the Algonquian family formerly located in Rhode Island but now almost extinct. |
| 2. | an Algonquian language, the language of the Narragansett Indians. |
| 3. | a town in S Rhode Island: includes a resort (Narragansett Pier). 12,088. |
| Nar·ra·gan·sett also Nar·ra·gan·set (nār'ə-gān'sĭt) n. pl. Narragansett or Nar·ra·gan·setts also Narraganset or Nar·ra·gan·sets
[From a Narragansett place name.] Nar'ra·gan'sett adj. |
Narragansett
town (township), southeastern Washington county, southern Rhode Island, U.S., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. The Pettaquamscutt River (north) and Point Judith Pond (south) form the western boundary of the town, which includes the village of Narragansett Pier and the fishing villages of Galilee and Jerusalem. Near Galilee is Point Judith Lighthouse (1816), an important U.S. Coast Guard beacon. The area was settled about 1675 and was named for the Narraganset Indians, who were defeated and dispersed during King Philip's War (1675-76). Originally part of South Kingstown, it was set off as an enclave of it in 1888 and was incorporated as a separate town in 1901. The economy is based on tourism. Area 14 square miles (37 square km). Pop. (1990) 14,985; (2000) 16,361.
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