Chumash

¹ American  

[choo-mash] / ˈtʃu mæʃ /

noun

plural

Chumashes,

plural

Chumash

1. a member of an American Indian people who formerly inhabited the southern California coast from San Luis Obispo to Santa Monica Bay, as well as the Santa Barbara Islands and the interior westward to the San Joaquin Valley: noted for their sophisticated seacraft and rock paintings.

2. any of the Hokan languages of the Chumash, at least six in number, all now extinct.

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Chumash ² American  

[khoo-mahsh, khoom-uhsh] / xuˈmɑʃ, ˈxʊm əʃ /

noun

Hebrew.

plural

Chumashim

1. Humash.

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chumash British  

/ ˈxʊməʃ, xʊˈmaʃ /

noun

1. Judaism a printed book containing one of the Five Books of Moses

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Etymology

Origin of chumash

literally: a fifth (part of the Torah)

Example Sentences

But Hammel-Sawyer knew nearly nothing about Chumash customs when she was a child.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026

Tongva, Chumash and Cahuilla workers in California formed the backbone of rancho agriculture.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

“Unlike Western belief systems, the Chumash held that humans could, with great effort, traverse these realms.”

From MarketWatch • Oct. 31, 2025

The six-bedroom home is described in its listing as an “architectural reverie” that draws “respectful inspiration from the Chumash people,” a Native American tribe that once occupied the land.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 31, 2025

Pastoria Creek and Alisos Creek were occupied by a northward extension of the Alliklik, and from Alisos Creek westward to Bitter Water Creek were found the Tokya group of the Chumash.

From The Aboriginal Population of the San Joaquin Valley, California by Cook, Sherburne F.