Kootenay

American  

[koot-n-ay, ˈkut-n-ee] / ˈkut nˌeɪ, -nˌi /

Or Kootenai,

noun

• Kootenays,
  plural
• Kootenay
  plural

1. a member of an Indigenous people of Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia.

2. the language of the Kootenay.

3. a river flowing from southwestern Canada through northwestern Montana and northern Idaho, swinging back into Canada to the Columbia River. 400 miles (645 km) long.

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adjective

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

Kootenay British  

/ ˈkuːtəniː, ˈkuːtneɪ /

noun

1. a river in W North America, rising in SE British Columbia and flowing south into NW Montana, then north into Idaho before re-entering British Columbia, broadening into Kootenay Lake , then flowing to the Columbia River. Length: 655 km (407 miles)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Kootenay
  plural
• Kootenays
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Kootenay

First recorded in 1800–10; from Kootenay (a language isolate) Kútonâqa, a self-designation of some Canadian Kootenay; see isolate ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Kootenay Kootenays

Francois Masse, the Parks Canada Superintendent of the Lake Louise, Yoho, and Kootenay Field Unit, said the rockfall was an "extremely rare event" that was "neither predictable nor preventable".

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025

With its location inside Kootenay National Park, a visit to the Radium Hot Springs pools opens up beautiful hikes and overlooks nearby.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2024

“Over a century of mountaintop-removal mining has laid waste to the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation, contaminating the Kootenay River and fish that depend on it,” the six governments of the tribal nation said.

From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2023

The powder highway refers to a mountainous paradise that covers a roughly 630-mile loop through the Kootenay Rockies, Monashees, Selkirks and Purcells.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021

With its expansions, the narrow and deep Arrow lakes, it is an important waterway in the Kootenay region.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various

While most are remote and require long hikes, a section of the West Kootenays to the Canadian Rockies holds five of the most easily accessible ones.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2024

The shop boasts the biggest ski wall in the Kootenays — as well as the largest selection of technical clothing — so you’re sure to walk out with something.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2022

Vietnam resisters were first attracted to the West Kootenays because of the presence of Quakers, who fed and sheltered runaways.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 19, 2017

A tall blond Canadian of Dutch ancestry, he was born in 1978 in a log cabin built by his hippie parents and their friends in the West Kootenays, a mountain range in British Columbia.

From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2011

They were only a passing band of Kootenays, and as they journeyed on and on, week in and week out, they finally came to Crow's Nest Mountain.

From The Moccasin Maker by Charles Mair

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