Chinook
[tshə-NOOK]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Salish, Unknown
1.
A warm dry wind which blows down the east side of the Rocky Mountains at the end of winter.
2.
A large North Pacific salmon that is an important commercial food fish.
Examples of Chinook in a sentence
"Alan paused his hike to appreciate the warm chinook flowing down towards him."
"Chinook salmon spend most of their adult lives in the ocean, but return to rivers and streams to lay their eggs."
About Chinook
The word chinook originated during the 19th century, and was originally used to describe regional specific items, such as animals and wind movement. It is thought to have developed from the languages of Salish and Chinook Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest.
Did you Know?
The word chinook is a type of wind, or a certain breed of salmon, but it originally described an Indigenous tribe. The Chinook people are widespread throughout the Pacific Northwest — not to be confused with the Salish Indigenous people, who originate from the same area and first used this word to describe another tribe.
