TYEE [ty-EE’ ] or [tahy-EE] — Noun, Adjective. Origin: From Nootka Jargon tayi(s) < Nuu-chah-nulth tayi “elder”, “oldest son”, “older brother”, “senior”; allegedly resembles Inuktitut toyom “chief” Meaning: boss; chief; foreman; gentleman; governor; an important person; landlord; leader; magistrate; manager; master; officer; a superior; any thing of superior order Occasionally…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Cosho
COSHO [ko’-SHO] or [KU’-shu] — noun. Meaning: Hog; pig; swine; pork; ham; bacon. Origin: French, le cochon, ‘pig’ “Oink, oink indeed,” said the Harbor Seal. Sometimes rendered as gosho, legosho, or lecosho in older sources, “cosho” (with the accent on the second syllable) was a French loanword used to mean pig…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Delate
DELATE [de-LATEY’] or [de-LEYT’] — adjective, adverb. Meaning: accurate; authentic; certain; correct; correctly; direct; exact; definite; definitley; genuine; just; straight; plain; precise; real; really; sincere; sincerely; sure; thorough; true; truely; upright; undoubted; verily; very; without equivocation; without hesitation. Origin: Either a corruption of English, straight; or Norman French drette >…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Hyak
HYAK [HY’-ak] — adverb. Meaning: Swift; fast; quick; quickly; speed; speedy; hurry; hasten; make haste; instantly; prompt; sudden; suddenly; rapid; rapidity of motion. Origin: Chinook ai-ak, from a Chinookan particle áyaq ‘can; quick, quickly’ Used to denote speed or urgency, as seen in “hyak kilapi” (return quickly; hurry back), “mamook…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Chuck
CHUCK [chuhk] or [tsukw] — noun. Meaning: water; liquid; river; stream Origin: Nootka Jargon chaak ‘water’ < Nuu-chah-nulth cha’uk ‘water’. Also from a Chinookan noun tlchuqw ‘water’ > Chinook, tltsuk; Clatsop, tl’chukw, freshwater. Evidently, a case of accidentally converging form/meaning. The word ‘chuck’ is extremely widespread in Chinook Wawa. While…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Tenas
TENAS [TEN’-as] — adjective. [ten’-AS] or [dun’-US] (Grand Ronde pronunciation) — noun. Meaning: Small; few; little; lesser; weak; young; a child; a youth Origin: From Nootka Jargon taná(s) ‘child, little’ < Nuu-chah-nulth t’an’ais ‘child’ The opposite of ‘skookum’, ‘hyas’, and ‘hiyu’ in differing contexts. In the Lower Columbia and Grand…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Cheechako
CHEECHAKO [chee-CHAH’-ko] — noun. Meaning: Newcomer; stranger; just arrived Origin: Lower Chinook t’shi ‘straightaway’ + Nuu-chah-nulth chokwaa ‘come!’ A common compound word formed from the Chinook Wawa words “chee” (new; lately) and “chako” (to come; to arrive), it was an primarily used to refer to a non-native person. While it…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Puss-Puss
PUSS-PUSS [puss’-puss] general, [pish’-pish] Puget Sound — noun. Meaning: A cat. Also used for cougar, lynx, bobcat, etc. Origin: English, An informal term of address for a cat. From a common Germanic word for cat, perhaps ultimately imitative of a sound made to get its attention. While the term for…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Hiyu
HIYU [hi-YU’] or [hy-IU’] — adjective, noun. Meaning: many; much; lots of; greatly; heap; plenty; plentiful; plural; enough (to go around), abundance Origin: From Nootka Jargon hayú ‘many, much’ < Nuu-chah-nulth hayu ‘ten’ or ‘aya ‘to be lots’; Makah Nootkan khayu ‘ten’; Toquaht, aiya Used with reference to quantity and…...
Department of Bioregion has a wonderful meeting with Bioregional Learning Center of Devonshire
The Cascadia Department of Bioregion was excited to meet with members of the Bioregional Learning Center in the South Devon Bioregion in the United Kingdom. One of the primary focuses of the meeting was sharing skills and knowledge regarding our two groups, and building a global model of collaboration as…...
