chinook Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a warm dry wind blowing down the eastern slopes of the Rockies
    snow eater; chinook wind.
  2. noun a member of an important North American Indian people who controlled the mouth of the Columbia river; they were organized into settlements rather than tribes
  3. noun pink or white flesh of large Pacific salmon
    king salmon; chinook salmon.
  4. noun a Penutian language spoken by the Chinook
    Chinookan.
  5. noun large Pacific salmon valued as food; adults die after spawning
    king salmon; Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; chinook salmon; quinnat salmon.

WordNet

Chi*nook" noun
Definitions
  1. (Ethnol.) One of a tribe of North American Indians now living in the state of Washington, noted for the custom of flattening their skulls. Chinooks also called Flathead Indians.
  2. A warm westerly wind from the country of the Chinooks, sometimes experienced on the slope of the Rocky Mountains, in Montana and the adjacent territory.
  3. A jargon of words from various languages (the largest proportion of which is from that of the Chinooks) generally understood by all the Indian tribes of the northwestern territories of the United States.

Webster 1913