kinnikinnick

[ kin-i-kuh-nik ]

/ ˌkɪn ɪ kəˈnɪk /

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noun

a mixture of bark, dried leaves, and sometimes tobacco, formerly smoked by the Indians and pioneers in the Ohio valley.

any of various plants used in this mixture, especially the common bearberry, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, of the heath family.

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Also kin·ni·kin·nic, kin·ni·ki·nick, kin·ni·ki·nic, kin·ni·kin·nik, killickinnic.

Origin of kinnikinnick

1790–1800; earlier killikinnick, etc., <Unami Delaware kələk˙əní˙k˙an literally, admixture, derivative of Proto-Algonquian *keleken- mix (it) with something different by hand

Words nearby kinnikinnick

kinkajou, kinkeeping, kinkle, kinky, Kinnell, kinnikinnick, Kinnock, kino, kino gum, Kinross, Kinross-shire

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kinnikinnick in a sentence

Adam had risen early and decked every available spot with kinnikinnick until the room fairly glistened.
The Master-Knot of Human Fate|Ellis Meredith
He packed a good supply of kippered salmon, and filled his pouch with kinnikinnick for smoking in his black stone pipe.
In the Oregon Country|George Palmer Putnam
The Indians filled their pipes with kinnikinnick, or willow bark, and smoked.
Stories of American Life and Adventure|Edward Eggleston
The girls tried to assume the airs of smokers, and puffed their kinnikinnick furiously.
Rose of Dutcher's Coolly|Hamlin Garland

In the woods the berries of the kinnikinnick grew red, and on the 181 lawn the mountain ash trees stood clothed in holiday attire.
Virginia of Elk Creek Valley|Mary Ellen Chase

British Dictionary definitions for kinnikinnick

kinnikinnick

kinnikinic killikinick

/ (ˌkɪnɪkɪˈnɪk) /

noun

the dried leaves and bark of certain plants, sometimes with tobacco added, formerly smoked by some North American Indians

any of the plants used for such a preparation, such as the sumach Rhus glabra

Word Origin for kinnikinnick

C18: from Algonquian, literally: that which is mixed; related to Natick kinukkinuk mixture

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012