Nuu-chah-nulth

[ noo-chah-noolth ]

noun

, plural Nuu-chah-nulths, (especially collectively) Nuu-chah-nulth

1. a member of an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, now living primarily in northwestern Washington State and on southwestern Vancouver Island.
2. the Wakashan language of the Nuu-chah-nulth.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Nuu-chah-nulth or their language.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nuu-chah-nulth¹

First recorded in 1975–80; from Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka); literally, “all along the mountains and sea” (of Vancouver Island ( def ), common to all the Nuu-chah-nulth)