Salishan

American  

[sey-lish-uhn, sal-ish-] / ˈseɪ lɪʃ ən, ˈsæl ɪʃ- /

noun

1. a family of American Indian languages including Coeur d'Alêne, Kalispel, and other languages of British Columbia and the northwestern U.S.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of this language family or its speakers.

Etymology

Origin of Salishan

First recorded in 1885–90; Salish + -an

Example Sentences

Today, he makes repairs at Tacoma Housing’s sprawling Salishan complex, steering a white van from town house to town house to wrestle with broken heaters, clogged toilets, damaged dishwashers and defective doors.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 17, 2023

There’s also the story of Salishan Vineyards in the Clark County town of La Center, where then-Seattle Times reporter Joan Wolverton planted vines in 1971 and later became an award-winning winemaker.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 4, 2022

Senjijextee, which does not have an origin provided in the dictionary, describes a Salishan people of the Columbia River Valley, according to The New York Times.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2022

On the west, in British Columbia, the Athapascan tribes nowhere reach the coast, being cut off by the Wakashan, Salishan, and Chimmesyan families.

From Indian Linguistic Families Of America, North Of Mexico Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 1-142 by Powell, John Wesley

Billechola belongs under Salishan, a family name of Gallatin’s of 1836.

From Indian Linguistic Families Of America, North Of Mexico Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 1-142 by Powell, John Wesley