Chehalis

American  

[shuh-hey-lis] / ʃəˈheɪ lɪs /

noun

plural

Chehalises,

plural

Chehalis

1. a river flowing from southwestern Washington State through western Washington State to the Pacific Ocean. 125 miles (201 km) long.

2. a member of an Indigenous people in western Washington State traditionally living in and around the basin of the Chehalis River.

3. either of the two Salishan languages of the Chehalis.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Chehalis or their languages.

Etymology

Origin of Chehalis

First recorded in 1850–55; from Lower Chehalis (a member of the Coast Salish branch of Salishan languages) Tsalis “sandy place” or Chikelis (also c̓x̣íľəs ) “shifting sands,” the name of a village in Grays Harbor County, Washington State

Example Sentences

Kearney, who grew up on the Chehalis reservation in Southwest Washington, started her photography career by creating portraits of community members and documenting cultural events.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 21, 2023

Selena Kearney, an artist and Chehalis tribal member, was fascinated by the power that those costumes held.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 21, 2023

In a Thursday letter, the state cited levels of returning natural spawning coho above the 10-year average to date in one tributary of the Chehalis River.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 18, 2023

Former Spokane Mayor Mary Verner grew up on a farm and hoped to continue harvesting hay off the old dairy near Chehalis she bought 10 years ago.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 18, 2023

He had grown up in Monte- sano, a foggy little logging town on the Chehalis River in southwestern Washington.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown