wanigan

[ won-i-guhn ]

noun
  1. a lumberjack's trunk.

  2. a lumber camp's supply chest.

  1. a small house on wheels or tractor treads, used as an office or shelter in temporary lumber camps.

  2. (especially in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest) a lean-to or other small addition built onto a house trailer, cabin, etc.

Origin of wanigan

1
First recorded in 1840–50; from Ojibwe wa·nikka·n “pit,” derivative of wa·nikke·- “to dig a hole in the ground” from unattested Proto-Algonquian wa·θehke·- (unattested wa·θ- “hole” + -ehke·- “make”)
  • Also wan·gan, wan·gun [wang-guhn], /ˈwæŋ gən/, wan·ni·gan.

Words Nearby wanigan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wanigan in a sentence

  • The tribulations of the wanigan were as the salt of life to the spectators.

    The Blazed Trail | Stewart Edward White
  • The cook had, early that morning, moored the wanigan to the bank.

    The Blazed Trail | Stewart Edward White
  • By this time the wanigan had caught the stronger current at the bend and was gathering momentum.

    The Riverman | Stewart Edward White
  • Charlie's wanigan, in case you do not happen to know what such a thing may be, was a scow about twenty feet long by ten wide.

    The Riverman | Stewart Edward White
  • When the wanigan was to be moved, he rose fairly to the heights of what might be called destructive prophecy.

    The Riverman | Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for wanigan

wanigan

wannigan

/ (ˈwɒnɪgən) /


nounCanadian
  1. a lumberjack's chest or box

  2. a cabin, caboose or houseboat

Origin of wanigan

1
C19: from Algonquian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012