Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of a Native American people formerly inhabiting the lower Columbia River valley and adjoining coastal regions of Washington and Oregon, now located in western Washington. The Chinook traded widely throughout the Pacific Northwest.
  • noun The Chinookan language of the Chinook.
  • noun A member of any of several Chinookan-speaking peoples formerly inhabiting the Columbia River valley eastward to The Dalles and now located in southern Washington and northern Oregon.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun uncountable A Native American language of the Penutian family of Oregon and Washington.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Chehalis (Salishan language of western Washington) c'inúk.]

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