Papoose (from the Algonquian papoose, meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in the context of the child's mother. However, the word is considered offensive to many Native Americans whose tribes did not use the word. The word had early use in English in bounty notices in New England. The dehumanizing nature of the term papoose to describe Native American babies is comparable to use of "pickaninny" to describe black children, although word is less widely understood as pejorative.

The word came originally from the Narragansett tribe. In 1643, Roger Williams recorded the word in his A Key Into the Language of America, helping to popularize it.