Nootka
Americannoun
noun
-
a member of a North American Indian people living in British Columbia and Vancouver Island
-
the language of this people, belonging to the Wakashan family
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Nootka
First recorded in 1780–90; possibly from Nootka nu⋅tka⋅ “to circle around,” mistaken by Captain James Cook to be the name of the people or of Nootka Sound
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.
Clear-cut logging, low river flows, overfishing and a warming climate have put the salmon in Nootka Sound at risk.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 29, 2024
He wrote: "King George's Sound was the appellation given by the Commodore to this inlet, on our first arrival; but he was afterwards informed that the natives called it Nootka."
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2023
A second theory holds that Spanish explorers could have brought the disease during their journeys to Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island in the late 1770s.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 20, 2021
Both drew inspiration for their work from their study of North American languages such as Nootka, Shawnee and Hopi.
From The Guardian • Jul. 27, 2018
But into the harbour of Nootka that same year of 1788, there sailed the ship of destiny, the Columbia Rediviva, in command of John Kendrick.
From The Columbia River Its History, Its Myths, Its Scenery, Its Commerce by Lyman, William Denison
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.
