tyee
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of tyee
An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; from Chinook Jargon: literally, “chief, boss,” from Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) ta·yi· “elder brother, senior”); as a name for the fish perhaps analogous with king salmon
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 proudest moment of my fishing career came when I caught my first and only tyee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2018
A Chinook that weighs more than 30 pounds is called a tyee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2018
Very shortly, the magistrate pounded his gavel; His verdict was clearly a stunner: “When the gentlemen differ in manner of travel, The tyee must go to the runner.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 21, 2016
In 1904 twenty-four tyee weighing 1,004lb., average 41½lb.; forty-three cohoes weighing 297lb., average 7½lb.
From Fishing in British Columbia With a Chapter on Tuna Fishing at Santa Catalina by Lambert, Thomas Wilson
But I, alas! have no son; I grow old, and lest this wisdom perish from the earth, and Tamanous be again obliged to interpose against avarice, I tell the tale to thee, O Boston tyee.
From Oregon, Washington and Alaska; Sights and Scenes for the Tourist by Lomax, E. L. (Edward Lloyd)
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.
