skookum

[prettygoodword]

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.

Comments

[pdlloyd.livejournal.com]

Ah, but add an s and it becomes Snookums, an endearment and nickname for a beloved someone.

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

... if you change a k as well.

---L.

[pdlloyd.livejournal.com]

... if you change a k as well.

I don't know what you mean: Snookums @ Dictionary.com

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

A skookum is not a snookum.

---L.

[pdlloyd.livejournal.com]

Boy, is my face red. Clearly, I was seeing only what I expected to see, and not what was really there.