Chinook

Chi·nook

noun \shə-ˈnu̇k, chə-, -ˈnük\

plural Chinook or Chinooks

Definition of CHINOOK

1

: a member of an American Indian people of the north shore of the Columbia River at its mouth

2

: a Chinookan language of the Chinook and other nearby peoples

3

often 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 Mountains

4

not capitalized : chinook salmon

Origin of CHINOOK

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

First Known Use: 1795

Other Anthropology Terms

ectomorph, ethnography, prehistory, yurt

Rhymes with CHINOOK

bankbook, billhook, black book, blue book, boat hook, cant hook, caoutchouc, casebook, chapbook, checkbook, closed book, codebook, cookbook, daybook, duck hook, e-book, fishhook, gang hook, good book, guidebook, handbook, hornbook, hymnbook, Innsbruck, jump hook, logbook, make book, matchbook, mouth hook, nainsook, nonbook, notebook, outlook, passbook, Pembroke, phrase book, playbook, pothook, prayer book, promptbook, psalmbook, schoolbook, scrapbook, sketchbook, skyhook, songbook, sourcebook, studbook, stylebook, textbook, trade book, unhook, white book, Windhoek, wordbook, workbook, yearbook

Chinook

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Northwest Coast Indian people of Washington and Oregon, U.S. At the time of first European contact, the Chinook—who were in fact composed of several smaller groups, including the Lower Chinook, the Clatsop, the Clackamas, and the Wasco—lived along the lower Columbia River and spoke Chinookan languages. They were famous as traders, with connections stretching as far as the Great Plains. They traded dried salmon, canoes, shells, and slaves. Chinook Jargon, the trade language of the Northwest Coast, was a combination of Chinook with Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) and other Indian, English, and French terms. The Chinook were first described ethnographically by the explorers Lewis and Clark, who encountered them in 1805. Their basic social unit was the clan. Chinook religion focused on salmon rites and guardian spirits, and the potlatch was an important social ceremony. Following a smallpox epidemic in the early 19th century that brought about the collapse of Chinook culture, most of the remaining Chinook were absorbed into other Northwest Coast groups and many were removed to reservations. In 2001 the Chinook gained federal recognition of tribal status. Chinook descendants numbered more than 1,500 in the early 21st century.