Main Entry:

Chi·nook

Pronunciation:

\shə-ˈnu̇k, chə-, -ˈnük\

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural Chinook or Chinooks

Etymology:

Lower Chehalis (Salishan language of western Washington) c̓inúk, name of a Chinook village

Date:

1795

1: a member of an American Indian people of the north shore of the Columbia River at its mouth2: a Chinookan language of the Chinook and other nearby peoples3often not capitalized a: a warm moist southwest wind of the coast from Oregon northward b: a warm dry wind that descends the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains4not capitalized : chinook salmon