prettygoodword (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
prettygoodword) wrote2015-03-20 07:44 am
prettygoodword) wrote2015-03-20 07:44 am
skookum
skookum (SKOO-kuhm) - adj., (NW US, W Canada) big, strong, durable, brave, excellent, impressive. n., (chiefly among Northwest Coast Aboriginal people) an woodland spirit or monster; a type of souvenir doll based on the monster.
The monster (similar to the sasquatch) is the original meaning, as skwəkwə́m in Lower Chehalis, a Salish language of the Washington state coast. From there it passed into Chinook Jargon as meaning strong/powerful, arriving into English around 1830 as a descriptor with positive connotations. There's also a cat breed named after the skookum.
---L.
The monster (similar to the sasquatch) is the original meaning, as skwəkwə́m in Lower Chehalis, a Salish language of the Washington state coast. From there it passed into Chinook Jargon as meaning strong/powerful, arriving into English around 1830 as a descriptor with positive connotations. There's also a cat breed named after the skookum.
---L.