Nootka
Americannoun
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Nootkas,
plural
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Nootka
plural
noun
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a member of a North American Indian people living in British Columbia and Vancouver Island
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the language of this people, belonging to the Wakashan family
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected 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.
See Examples For:
On Nootka Island, areas of uncut forest show the abundance that was.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 2023
These ancient trees were among the most unusual pieces of evidence the Nuchatlaht have presented to prove that their people continuously lived on the claim area on Nootka Island.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2023
On Sept. 29, after the volatile summer, the fort was abandoned, and the Spanish returned to their home port at Vancouver Island’s Nootka Sound, never to return.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
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
Unfortunately for the fame of Perez, the claim now maintained for him to the discovery of Nootka Sound, was kept secret by the Spaniards till after general consent had assigned it to Captain Cook.
From The Oregon Territory Its History and Discovery by Travers Twiss
With the Nootkas, women are consulted on all matters of business.
From Religion & Sex Studies in the Pathology of Religious Development by Chapman Cohen
According to the Nootkas the soul has the shape of a tiny man; its seat is the crown of the head.
From The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer
Houses very like these are built by the Ahts or Nootkas, a tribe of Indians inhabiting parts of Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland.
From First Across the Continent The story of the exploring expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6 by Noah Brooks
The chief of the Nootkas presented Cook with a sea-otter cloak.
From Vikings of the Pacific The Adventures of the Explorers who Came from the West, Eastward by Agnes C. (Agnes Christina) Laut
It was a union of the Indian tribes of Oregon and Washington, with the Willamettes at the head, against their great hereditary enemies, the Nootkas, the Shoshones, and the Spokanes.
From The Bridge of the Gods A Romance of Indian Oregon. 19th Edition. by Frederic Homer Balch
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