KULL

[kul]  — adjective.

Meaning: Hard (in substance); solid; hard to do; tough; difficult.

Origin: From a Chinookan particle q’ul ‘strong’; q’ul-q’ul  ‘strong’, ‘hard’, ‘too difficult’.   

A word used to describe making something “hyas kull” (tight; fast), or changing the state of something such as “mamook kull” (to harden; to cause to harden) and “chako kull” (to become hard), as seen in “kull snass” (ice) and “kull tatoosh” (cheese) describing the solidifying state of rain and milk, respectively. Conversely, the expressions ”halo kull” (easy; not difficult) and “wake kull” (soft; tender) could also be used as alternative ways to describe something that is ‘soft’ or ‘not hard’.

It is occasionally seen in expressions like “hyas kull spose mamook” (it is very hard to do so), or describing a substance, like the “kull stick” (oak), which could be used as a byword for any sort of hardwood in Cascadia.