Costanoan

American  

[kos-, koh-stuh-noh-uhn] / ˌkɒs-, ˌkoʊ stəˈnoʊ ən /

noun

1. a family of eight languages, now extinct, spoken by American Indian peoples of Penutian descent residing in coastal California.

2. any of the speakers of these languages or their descendants, who traditionally inhabited the coast and adjacent river valleys from San Francisco Bay south to Monterey Bay and Point Sur.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Costanoans or their language.

Etymology

Origin of Costanoan

First recorded in 1885–90; alteration of American Spanish costeño “coast dweller,” equivalent to cost(a) + -eño noun suffix; cf. coast, cuesta; see also -an ( def. )

Example Sentences

By then, California’s Indigenous population had been devastated—including the Ohlone, or Costanoan, people, whose lands once included much of the San Francisco Bay Area.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 20, 2022

A member of the Monterey-based Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation, Miranda says many of the indigenous people she has talked to about the San Gabriel Mission fire feel conflicted.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2020

They probably had just left Costanoan territory, although, to be sure, the exact tribal boundaries are unknown.

From The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California by Cook, Sherburne Friend

Since the Spaniards had been in Costanoan territory for many days, they must have encountered a sharp dialectic boundary at the southeastern corner of San Francisco Bay.

From The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California by Cook, Sherburne Friend

From 1803 to 1808, all converts were drawn from twelve places having recognizable names, ending in -an, -en, -in, or -un, characteristic Costanoan word endings.

From The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California by Cook, Sherburne Friend