IA or Ia.abbr. IowaI·o·wa 1 (???-w?)n. pl. Iowa or I·o·was 1. A member of a Native American people formerly inhabiting parts of Iowa and southwest Minnesota, with present-day populations in Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma.2. The Siouan language of the Iowa.[From French ayoés, ultimately from Dakota ayúxba.]I?o·wa adj.I·o·wa 2 (???-w?) Abbr. IA or Ia. A state of the north-central United States. It was admitted as the 29th state in 1846. Part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Iowa was organized as a separate territory in 1838. The Mound Builders lived in the area in prehistoric times. Des Moines is the capital and the largest city.I?o·wan adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Ia. or IAabbreviation for (Placename) IowaCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014