wanigan

[ won-i-guh n ]

/ ˈwɒn ɪ gən /

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.

Nearby words

Also wan·gan, wan·gun

[wang-guh n] /ˈwæŋ gən/, wan·ni·gan.

Origin of wanigan

1840–50; < Ojibwa wa·nikka·n pit, derivative of wa·nikke·- to dig a hole in the ground < Proto-Algonquian *wa·θehke·- (*wa·θ- hole + *-ehke·- make)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wanigan

Newmark soon discovered that the progress of the wanigan was looked upon in the light of a side-show by the rivermen.
The Riverman|Stewart Edward White
The tribulations of the wanigan were as the salt of life to the spectators.
The Blazed Trail|Stewart Edward White
As the wanigan neared the sluice through which it must shoot the flood-water, the excitement mounted to fever pitch.
The Riverman|Stewart Edward White
The ground had now hardened so that a wanigan boat was unnecessary.
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

British Dictionary definitions for wanigan

wanigan

wannigan

/ (ˈwɒnɪgən) /

noun Canadian

a lumberjack's chest or box

a cabin, caboose or houseboat

Word Origin for 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