Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - ottawa

 I. noun  (plural -was or -wa)  Etymology: French Outaoua, from Ojibwa (eastern dialect) ota•wa•  Date: 1687 a member of an American Indian people of Michigan and southern Ontario  II. geographical name  1. river 696 miles (1120 kilometers) E Canada in SE Ontario & S Quebec flowing E into St. Lawrence River  2. city capital of Canada in SE Ontario population 774,072