kinnikinnick

[ kin-i-kuh-nik ]

noun

1. a mixture of bark, dried leaves, and sometimes tobacco, formerly smoked by the Indians and pioneers in the Ohio valley.
2. any of various plants used in this mixture, especially the common bearberry, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, of the heath family.

kinnikinnick

/ ˌkɪnɪkɪˈnɪk /

noun

1. the dried leaves and bark of certain plants, sometimes with tobacco added, formerly smoked by some North American Indians
2. any of the plants used for such a preparation, such as the sumach Rhus glabra

Word History and Origins

Origin of kinnikinnick¹

1790–1800; earlier killikinnick, etc., < Unami Delaware kələk˙əní˙k˙an literally, admixture, derivative of Proto-Algonquian *keleken- mix (it) with something different by hand

Word History and Origins

Origin of kinnikinnick¹

C18: from Algonquian, literally: that which is mixed; related to Natick kinukkinuk mixture

Example Sentences

Kinnikinnick Farm, located just south of the Wisconsin border in Illinois, tried out the variety and has been growing them ever since, he says.

From Washington Post

Provatas, his right hand, worked the phones until she found a new supplier, a Canadian company called Kinnikinnick that specializes in allergen-free baked goods.

From Seattle Times

Provatas, his right hand, worked the phones until she found a new supplier, a Canadian company called Kinnikinnick that specializes in allergen-free baked goods.

From Washington Post

Omakayas saw her father open up his leather pouch of sweet kinnikinnick and asema, or tobacco.

From Literature

Grandma was completing the edge of a great round box of birchbark, one that she would use to store her red willow kinnikinnick.

From Literature