wanigan

[ won-i-guhn ]

noun

a lumberjack's trunk.
a lumber camp's supply chest.

a small house on wheels or tractor treads, used as an office or shelter in temporary lumber camps.
(especially in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest) a lean-to or other small addition built onto a house trailer, cabin, etc.

Origin of wanigan

First recorded in 1840–50; from Ojibwe wa·nikka·n “pit,” derivative of wa·nikke·- “to dig a hole in the ground” from unattested Proto-Algonquian wa·θehke·- (unattested wa·θ- “hole” + -ehke·- “make”)

Also wan·gan, wan·gun [wang-guhn], /ˈwæŋ gən/, wan·ni·gan.

Words Nearby wanigan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wanigan in a sentence

The tribulations of the wanigan were as the salt of life to the spectators.
The Blazed Trail | Stewart Edward White
The cook had, early that morning, moored the wanigan to the bank.
The Blazed Trail | Stewart Edward White
By this time the wanigan had caught the stronger current at the bend and was gathering momentum.
The Riverman | Stewart Edward White
Charlie's wanigan, in case you do not happen to know what such a thing may be, was a scow about twenty feet long by ten wide.
The Riverman | Stewart Edward White
When the wanigan was to be moved, he rose fairly to the heights of what might be called destructive prophecy.
The Riverman | Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for wanigan

wanigan

wannigan

/ (ˈwɒnɪgən) /

nounCanadian

a lumberjack's chest or box
a cabin, caboose or houseboat

Origin of wanigan

C19: from Algonquian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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