Costanoan

[ koh-stuh-noh-uhn, kos- ]

noun

1. a family of eight languages, now extinct, spoken by American Indian peoples of Penutian descent residing in coastal California.
2. any of the speakers of these languages or their descendants, who traditionally inhabited the coast and adjacent river valleys from San Francisco Bay south to Monterey Bay and Point Sur.

adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Costanoan¹

First recorded in 1885–90; alteration of American Spanish costeño “coast dweller,” equivalent to cost(a) + -eño noun suffix; coast, cuesta; -an ( def )

Example Sentences

By then, California’s Indigenous population had been devastated—including the Ohlone, or Costanoan, people, whose lands once included much of the San Francisco Bay Area.

From Science Magazine

El Palo Alto grows on the land that once belonged to the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation.

From Seattle Times

“It was devastating,” said Rudy Rosales, a former tribal chairman of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation, who is Catholic and tends the Native American graves in the mission cemetery.

From New York Times

The mission, founded in 1771, also was preparing for a silent protest by members of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation, who intended to pray for ancestors buried in the mission's cemetery.

From US News

The mission, founded in 1771, also was preparing for a silent protest by members of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation, who intended to pray for ancestors buried in the mission’s cemetery.

From Washington Times