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…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Saghalie
SAGHALIE [SAGH-a-lie] or occasionally [SAH’-ha-lie] — adjective. Meaning: Up; above; high; heaven; sky; celestial; top; uppermost; over (above); upwards; lofty; holy. Origin: Chinook, sakhali; Clatsop, ukhshakhali. Up; above; high. Sometime rendered as ‘sagalie’, ‘sagalee’, ‘saqalie’, and even ‘sahhalie’ or ‘sahali’, this word was usually pronounced as if it were spelled…...
