Werowans, Weroance, Werowance, Weroanse, Wiroans, Wiroance, Heround, Herowan, Cheroun, Car. Alg.; chief or leading man in a tribe (H,N). Cp. Strachey weroance, wiroance 'a king or great lord' (Hist. of travell, pp. 63, 190), wironausqua ( lege wiroan(s)usqua) 'a woman queene'. Apparently from wilaw- 'rich, valuable, precious' (as in Delaware) plus -antesi 'exist, get along, have such a manner of life' (as in Fox-Ojibwa-Algomnkin -atesi-, -stisi-, adisi-,, but here a nasal must have developed after -a-, as in New England). This seems satisfactory, although I have no citations in support of Delaware wilawi-, and do not know whether this has wi- or wi--.

from "The Roanoke Voyages 1584-1590, Hakluyt Society, 1955, p. 899"