According to "The Pellissippi State Story 1974-1998," "Pellissippi" ("Pelisipi'' on early maps of Tennessee), meaning "winding waters," is the Cherokee name for the Clinch River. However, the Cherokee do not have "p" or "s" sounds in their language. Also, in Cherokee, "winding river" would be phonetically spelled "adanuteyoha geyvi" (pronounced: ah-dah-new-tay-yo-ha gey-yuh-ee).
PSCC dug a little deeper and published their fascinating findings in "The Winding River Home: Pellissippi State researches the meaning of ‘Pellissippi’." Worth a look!
