Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Excellent ,impressive . - adjective
big ,strong ,durable ,reliable ,trustworthy ,doughty - noun An evil spirit or woodland monster/giant
- noun a type of doll based on the mythical woodland monster
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word skookum.
Examples
-
And we teach LG to use "skookum" in everyday conversation.
yum 2006
-
And we teach LG to use "skookum" in everyday conversation.
yum 2006
-
But he knew that Dave Walsh was a big man, worth lots of money, a hi-yu skookum chief.
Flush of Gold 2010
-
"Here, take the axe, shinny up the hill, and lug me down some _skookum_ dry wood."
CHAPTER 15 2010
-
Him say you no skookum, no strong, all the same very soft like little baby.
-
March 14, 2010, 3: 22 am jukeboxgrad says: skookum:
The Volokh Conspiracy » Judge Reinhardt’s Dig on Sarah Palin 2010
-
He is, Shorty exclaims, the "hi-yu skookum top chief of the whole caboodle," and the caboodle is 20,000 square miles of wilderness, home to a hundred thousand caribou hunted by a people using bone-barbed arrows and bone knives.
“I am only a wild girl, and I am afraid of the world....” 2008
-
Actually… he sitting like that cause those cats were bred to tripod and look over tall grass. i cant remember why but i assure you hes not uncomfortable. i happen to have one. and hes never had any issues except he thinks hes a dog. mines a hybrid of this though… a skookum.
but when the goggie does - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2009
-
Diary of a Bluestocking: dawn chorus now available to read in skookum boom skip to main
dawn chorus now available to read in skookum boom Bluestocking 2009
-
Yeah, you got to look out for those skookum women, I mean, floods ...
Inequality on the ground and in space... ScienceWoman 2006
trivet commented on the word skookum
a lovely, all purpose positive adjective meaning: well done, large, good, strong, genuine, cool, etc.
March 14, 2007
slumry commented on the word skookum
from the Chinook Jargon Widely used in the Pacific Northwest
June 15, 2007
oroboros commented on the word skookum
Makes me think of a bunch of cannibals building a fire for the Missionary Soup they anticipate. "Hey, skookum!" :-)
May 1, 2009
MomA commented on the word skookum
"Skookum" is an expression unique to the Pacific Northwestern culture, based probably on Native American translation, for someone who has knowledge about a particular thing, idea, or concept. For example, "He's really skookum about wood carving."
September 14, 2009
alexz commented on the word skookum
From an old Chinook glossary
"Skoo kum or Skoo koom n adj Chihalis Skukum A ghost an evil spirit or demon strong Skookum tumtum brave skookum chuck a rapid " http://goo.gl/AJEyW
February 4, 2013
hernesheir commented on the word skookum
Skookumchuck Creek is a tributary of the Salmon River in Idaho.
February 4, 2013
slumry commented on the word skookum
The Chinook dictionary that I rely on most is:
Chinook: A History and Dictionary by Edward Harper Thomas, first published in 1935. The author defines skookum as follows:
"Strong, powerful, potent. Originally a ghost, evil spirit, or demon.
This is one of the best known, most widely used and significant words in the Jargon. Its adoption by people of the Northwest has made it a regional English word...In fact, it is so common on the Pacific Coast as to have almost lost its Indian significance."
May 14, 2015