The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett, whose name can be segmented as mass-adchu-s-et, where mass- is "large", -adchu- is "hill", -s- is a diminutive suffix meaning "small", and -et is a locative case suffix, identifying it as a place. It has been translated as "near the great hill",[65] "by the blue hills", "at the little big hill", or "at the range of hills", referring to the Blue Hills, or in particular the Great Blue Hill which is located on the boundary of Milton and Canton.[66][67] Alternatively, Massachusett has been represented as Moswetuset—from the name of the Moswetuset Hummock (meaning "hill shaped like an arrowhead") in Quincy, where Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish, hired English military officer, and Squanto, part of the now disappeared Patuxet band of the Wampanoag peoples, met Chief Chickatawbut in 1621.[68][69]
The official name of the state is the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts".[70] While this designation is part of the state's official name, it has no practical implications.[71] Massachusetts has the same position and powers within the United States as other states.[72]
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