MESACHIE [me-SA’-chi] — adjective Meaning: Bad; bitter; cruel; depravity; dissolute; dung; evil; filthy; grumpy; harm; immodest; immoral; iniquity; insolence; malign; naughty; nasty; obscene; sin; sinner; treacherous; ungodly; unrighteous; unruly; unworthy; vice; vile; wicked. Origin: Chinook, masáchi “Bad”; “wicked” < Chinook masachi “evil”,”nasty”,”malign” (Chinookan languages of Washington and Oregon) “Mesachie” (occasionally…...
YOUR CHINOOK WAWA WORD OF THE DAY: KWASS
KWASS [kwas] — Adjective, noun. Meaning: Afraid, Awe; Distrust; Dread; Fear; Fearful; Shy; Tame; Timid Origin: From a Chinookan particle k’wash ‘afraid’ Expressing notions of fear and hesitancy, the word “kwass” lends itself to an adequate description of a “kwass kalakala” (pigeon). Scary movies are designed to “mamook kwass” (scare,…...
YOUR CHINOOK WAWA WORD OF THE DAY: TAMAHNOUS
TAMAHNOUS [ta-MAH’-no-us] or [tam-án-a-was] or [tamá-nawas] or [tah-MAH’-na-wis] — noun, verb, adjective Meaning: Spirit; Guardian spirit; Personal Spirit; Ghost; Goblin; Witch; Magic; Luck; Fortune; Slight of hand; One’s particular forte, specialty, or strength Origin: Several possible, perhaps convergent etymologies: Chinook, itamánawas ‘guardian or familiar spirit; magic, luck, fortune; anything supernatural’…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Salal
SALAL [SAL’-AL] — noun. Meaning: The salal shrub or its berries.The salal berry; fruit of Gualtheria shallon. Origin: Chinook klkwushala ‘salal berries’. Sometimes called ‘sallal’ or ‘shallon’, the salal (Gaultheria shallon) is an evergreen shrub, restricted mainly to the Cascadian coastline which possess clustered dark-purple berrylike fruit about the size…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Shot Olallie
Shot Olallie [shot O-lal’-lie] or [shat U-lal-i] — noun. Meaning: huckleberry Origin: English shot “bullet; lead” + Heiltsuk, olallie “salmon berry”; Chinook, ulali, “berry” The Red Huckleberry (vaccinium parvifolium) is a species native to western North America, where it is common in forests of Cascadia. In the Oregon Coast Range,…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Seahpo olallie
Seahpo olallie [se-áh-po O-lal’-lie] or [se-áh-pult U-lal-i] — noun. Meaning: Raspberry Origin: French, chapeau “hat”, “cap” + Heiltsuk, olallie “salmon berry”; Chinook, ulali, “berry” There are several varieties of raspberry in Cascadia, including the Snow Raspberry (Rubus nivalis), which is native to northwestern North America: British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, and…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Amote
AMOTE [a-MO’-teh] or [a-MU-tee], occasionally corrupted into [al-mo’-ta] — noun. Meaning: Strawberry (plant or fruit) Origin: Chinook amuti; Clatsop tl’amōte, “strawberry”. Fragaria chiloensis, the ‘beach strawberry’ or ‘coastal strawberry’, is one of two species of wild strawberries that were hybridized to create the modern garden strawberry. The plant’s natural range…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Olallie
Olallie [O-lal’-lie] or [U-lal-i] — noun. Meaning: Berry; berries; fruit Origin: From a Lower Chinook úlili ‘salmon-berry’; Heiltsuk, olallie “salmon berry” Originally this word referred only to salmon-berries (Rubus spectabilis), but in Chinook Wawa it grew to mean any sort of “pil olallie” (red berry), along the Salish Sea it…...
