The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Missouri:
Missouri – U.S. state named for the Missouri River, which was named after the Siouan-language tribe. The Smithsonian Bureau of American Ethnology states that Missouri means town of the large canoes. Other authorities say the original native American syllables (from which the word came) mean wooden canoe people, he of the big canoe, or river of the big canoes.[1] Located in the Midwestern United States,[2] the state lies on the Mississippi river, which defines its eastern border. The land that is now Missouri was acquired from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase and became known as the Missouri Territory. Part of this Territory was admitted into the union as the 24th state on August 10, 1821.
