Nuu-chah-nulth
Americannoun
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Nuu-chah-nulths,
plural
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Nuu-chah-nulth
plural
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a member of an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, now living primarily in northwestern Washington State and on southwestern Vancouver Island.
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the Wakashan language of the Nuu-chah-nulth.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Nuu-chah-nulth
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)
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.
The Pacheedaht and Makah, across the water on their reservation on the Olympic Peninsula, are closely related and speak the same dialect of the Nuu-chah-nulth language.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2022
The word comes from the language of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of coastal British Columbia and means “chief” or “great leader.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2018
Vancouver Island in British Columbia lost one of its First Nation vernaculars last year with the death of Alban Michael, the last speaker of a dialect of Nuu-chah-nulth.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2017
A member of the Nuu-chah-nulth, Coast Salish, and Cree nations from the Village of Maaqtusiis in Sovereign Ahousaht Territory, Canada, she grew up reading Mao with her father.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 8, 2016
The Nuu-chah-nulth, like the Makah, told stories of the ocean receding suddenly, then flooding back powerfully and killing many, many people.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2015
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
