Chehalis

American  

[shuh-hey-lis] / ʃəˈheɪ lɪs /

noun

plural

Chehalises,

plural

Chehalis

1. a river flowing from southwestern Washington State through western Washington State to the Pacific Ocean. 125 miles (201 km) long.

2. a member of an Indigenous people in western Washington State traditionally living in and around the basin of the Chehalis River.

3. either of the two Salishan languages of the Chehalis.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Chehalis or their languages.

Etymology

Origin of Chehalis

First recorded in 1850–55; from Lower Chehalis (a member of the Coast Salish branch of Salishan languages) Tsalis “sandy place” or Chikelis (also c̓x̣íľəs ) “shifting sands,” the name of a village in Grays Harbor County, Washington State

Example Sentences

Washington’s four secure facilities are located in Chehalis, Wenatchee, Vancouver and Kent.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 16, 2024

The NWS reported multiple sites with visibility at less than a quarter-mile between SeaTac and Chehalis.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2023

An 8-year-old Chehalis girl traveling with them was injured.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2023

Valley Transit, which serves Walla Walla County, made the same call, as did Twin Transit, which serves Centralia and Chehalis in Lewis County, Twin Transit operations manager Maggie McCarthy said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2023

He had grown up in Monte- sano, a foggy little logging town on the Chehalis River in southwestern Washington.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown