Kootenay

American  

[koot-n-ey, ˈkut-n-ee] / ˈkut nˌeɪ, -nˌi /

Or Kootenai,

noun

plural

Kootenays,

plural

Kootenay

1. a member of an Indigenous people of Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia.

2. the language of the Kootenay.

3. a river flowing from southwestern Canada through northwestern Montana and northern Idaho, swinging back into Canada to the Columbia River. 400 miles (645 km) long.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Kootenay or their language.

Kootenay British  

/ ˈkuːtəniː, ˈkuːtneɪ /

noun

1. a river in W North America, rising in SE British Columbia and flowing south into NW Montana, then north into Idaho before re-entering British Columbia, broadening into Kootenay Lake , then flowing to the Columbia River. Length: 655 km (407 miles)

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Etymology

Origin of Kootenay

First recorded in 1800–10; from Kootenay (a language isolate) Kútonâqa, a self-designation of some Canadian Kootenay; see isolate ( def. )

Example Sentences

Francois Masse, the Parks Canada Superintendent of the Lake Louise, Yoho, and Kootenay Field Unit, said the rockfall was an "extremely rare event" that was "neither predictable nor preventable".

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2025

“Over a century of mountaintop-removal mining has laid waste to the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation, contaminating the Kootenay River and fish that depend on it,” the six governments of the tribal nation said.

From New York Times • Jul. 11, 2023

The springs became more popular when permanent European settlers came to the area, which later became a part of Kootenay National Park.

From Seattle Times • May 26, 2022

The powder highway refers to a mountainous paradise that covers a roughly 630-mile loop through the Kootenay Rockies, Monashees, Selkirks and Purcells.

From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2021

His also was the distinction, after maintaining an intermittent service between the Columbia and Kootenay for a number of years, of being the captain and owner of the last boat to make that amazing passage.

From Down the Columbia by Freeman, Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome)