Coeur d'Alene

Or Coeur d'A·lêne

[kur dl-eyn, kawr dl-eyn]

noun

plural

Coeur d'Alenes ,

plural

Coeur d'Alene .

1. Also called Schitsu’umsh. a member of an Indigenous people in northern Idaho and southern Washington State around Coeur d'Alene Lake.

2. Also called Schitsu'umshtsn. the Salishan language of the Coeur d'Alene.

3. a city in northern Idaho.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Coeur d'Alene or their language.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Coeur d'Alene¹

First recorded in 1804–06 in the Lewis and Clark expedition; from French Coeur d'Alêne “heart of (an) awl,” of disputed meaning; possibly applied by French traders to a stingy tribal chief, possibly applied by a tribal chief's description of the size of a French trader's heart, or possibly referring to the sharpness of the trading skills of the native people in their dealings with the traders