Cowlitz

[kou-lits]

noun

plural

Cowlitzes ,

plural

Cowlitz .

1. a river in southwestern Washington State, flowing west and south to the Columbia River. 130 miles (209 km) long.

2. a county in southwestern Washington State. 1,166 sq. mi. (3,021 sq. km).

3. a member of either of two tribes of Indigenous people of western Washington State traditionally living around the Cowlitz River, the lower tribe speaking a Salishan language and the upper tribe gradually adopting a Sahaptin language through intermarriage with Sahaptin people.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cowlitz¹

First recorded in 1830–40; a collective geographical term applied by Europeans to several ethnically and linguistic different groups of Indigenous peoples of the Cowlitz River Basin in western Washington State

Example Sentences

Rogers was identified last week as the suspect in an Aug. 5 stabbing that killed one and critically wounded another in Cowlitz County, Wash. He’s now been eluding authorities for a week.

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Until Cowlitz found the Chapter House, he could only dream of these spaces from the past.

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Joey Clift, a Cowlitz comedian and television writer, first discovered the Chapter House in July 2023 through a bolo tie-making workshop, which helped him transform a hand-beaded Garfield medallion, made by Cree beadworker Sweet Grass by Heather, into something he could wear.

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Cowlitz would go on to join the community center’s board, with hopes to reignite the young Indigenous creative scene.

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An abandoned railroad crossing blocking a tributary of the Cowlitz River.

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