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.
A Chinook that weighs more than 30 pounds is called a tyee.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 9, 2018
The proudest moment of my fishing career came when I caught my first and only 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
Saghalie tyee, the Deity; tyee salmon, the spring salmon.
From Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, or, Trade Language of Oregon by Gibbs, George
The vault itself, with its store of gold and currency, and its cabinet of mysterious treaties, which the tyee made with the busy white men, filled him with awe.
From McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 3, July 1908. by Various
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.
