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

The springs became more popular when permanent European settlers came to the area, which later became a part of Kootenay National Park.

From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022

Judson Wright launched Kootenay Backcountry Guides out of Nelson, B.C., in 2016 and says business has only increased since then.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021

But in 2014, as he and colleagues were collecting from a new quarry in Kootenay National Park in British Columbia, they began finding scraps of a mysterious new animal.

From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2021

From 1807 to 1811, explored the entire system of the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers, from source to mouth.

From The Makers of Canada: Index and Dictionary of Canadian History 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

We were greatly interested in the recently installed zinc-leaching plant for the handling of an especially refractory ore from the company’s own mine in the Kootenays.

From Down the Columbia by Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome) Freeman

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