Chinookan

[shi-nook-uhn, -noo-kuhn, chi-]

noun

1. a language family comprising only Lower Chinook and Upper Chinook.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Chinooks or to Chinookan.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Chinookan¹

First recorded in 1885–90; Chinook + -an

Example Sentences

Tribal chairman Tony Johnson instructed everyone to raise their paddles - the crescent-shaped ends marking them as distinctly Chinookan - and plunge them into the water.

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The Chinookan linguistic family includes a number of separate tribes.

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Its name, Kthlmin, means “moon” in the Chinookan language - a plea for favorable tides, Johnson said, on its frequent journeys in the open ocean.

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