Kwakiutl
Americannoun
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Also called Kwakwaka'wakw. a member of one of the First Nations of Vancouver Island and the adjacent coast of mainland British Columbia.
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Also called Kwak'wala. the Wakashan language of the Kwakiutl.
adjective
noun
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a member of a North American Indian people of N Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland
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the language of this people, belonging to the Wakashan family
Etymology
Origin of Kwakiutl
First recorded in 1845–50; from Kwakiutl Kwagu'ł, a place name
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This was the critical turning point for her survival: Straitwatch Canada, a nonprofit, and the Kwakiutl First Nation told all boaters, including fishermen, to stay away from Springer, even if she approached them.
From Seattle Times
The land of the Kwakiutl, whose name translates to “smoke of the world,” was taken into ownership — both private and national — by gunpoint, dishonored treaties and restrictive and discriminatory laws.
From New York Times
Graeber is a 50-year-old anthropologist—among the brightest, some argue, of his generation—who made his name with innovative theories on exchange and value, exploring phenomena such as Iroquois wampum and the Kwakiutl potlatch.
From BusinessWeek
Among the more important tribes or group of tribes, are the Tlingit, Haida, Tshimpshian, and Kwakiutl.
From Project Gutenberg
Among the southern tribes, notably the Kwakiutl, the stature averages 1.645 m.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.