Browse Entries: K

there are 182 entries under the letter K

Kabloona

n. a European; white man.

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Kadloona

n. a European; white man.

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Kaila

n. the supreme nature god of the Eskimos.

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Kallispellem canoe

a canoe made of the bark of western white pine, now largely confined to the Kootenay Valley.

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kalsominer

1 n. a person who attempts to gloss over or cover up (evil, corruption, etc.).

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kamik

n. a type of knee-length waterproof boot made of sealskin.

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Kamloops (trout)

n. a large game fish, Salmo gairdneri kamloops, native to the upper Columbia and Fraser Rivers; a landlocked steelhead.

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Kanaka

n. a native of the South Sea Islands, especially a Hawaiian in the service of the Hudson's Bay Co. on the Pacific Coast, most of whom settled in British Columbia.

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kapta

n. a hooded outer garment of fur or other material. See picture at atigi (def. 2).

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kasagea

n. a small seal, Phoca vitulina, common on the East Coast.

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kashim

n. men's council house.

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kayak ((1))

1 n. a light sealskin boat completely decked except for a cockpit to accommodate the hunter, who propels the craft with a double-bladed paddle.

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kayaker

n. one who paddles a kayak.

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kayaking

n. travelling by kayak.

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Keche Manitou

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keekwil(l)ie (house)

n. a large semisubterranean winter dwelling formerly used by certain Indian tribes, a typical example being 10-12 feet deep and 25-40 feet in diameter, covered with split logs and a layer of mud, and accommodating 12-15 persons.

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keekwil(l)ie hole

a large semisubterranean winter dwelling formerly used by certain Indian tribes, a typical example being 10-12 feet deep and 25-40 feet in diameter, covered with split logs and a layer of mud, and accommodating 12-15 persons.

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keep-over

n. a place providing accommodation for travellers; an inn, usually of a primitive sort.

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keeper ((1))

n. the person in charge of a horseguard (def. 1).

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keeper ((2))

n. a fish large enough to keep, being of the legal minimum size.

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Keewatin

1 n. the North Wind.

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keg

n. See muskeg.

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keg angel

a person trading or selling whisky, especially as an illicit business, to the Indians.

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Kentycooker

n. See quote.

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Kermode bear

1 a subspecies of the black bear, Ursus americanus kermodei.

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kerosene

n. a distillant of petroleum, used for heating, illumination, and various other purposes.

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kerosene lamp

a lamp that burns kerosene.

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kerosene oil

a distillant of petroleum, used for heating, illumination, and various other purposes.

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keta (salmon)

n. a large salmon of the Pacific coast, Oncorhynchus keta.

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Ketchee-Maneeto

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kettle ((1))

1 n. See 1903 quote.

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kettle ((2))

n. tea; the pause for making tea.

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kettle-stick

n. a stick of green wood, often resting on two crotched uprights, used to hold kettles over a campfire.

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kettlestone

n. See quote.

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key

v. obstruct as a key-log (def. 1) does.

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key-block

n. a polygonal block of snow dropped into place in the centre of an igloo dome and serving to lock the structure firmly together. See picture at igloo.

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key-log

1 n. the log which when released will free a jam (def. 2).

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key-piece

n. the log which when released will free a jam (def. 2).

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key-stick

n. the log which when released will free a jam (def. 2).

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keystone (block)

n. a polygonal block of snow dropped into place in the centre of an igloo dome and serving to lock the structure firmly together.

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Kiack

n. a term of derision directed at persons eating alewives.

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kiack ((1))

n. a bony species of herring, Alosa pseudoharengus, of the eastern seaboard and Great Lakes.

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kicker

1a n. a small outboard motor.

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kicker engine

a small outboard motor.

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kicking-off place

a place, usually a town, where one leaves the railway or other link with civilization to proceed into the wilderness.

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kickininee

n. a dwarf landlocked salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi, native to southern British Columbia.

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Kika-nisei

n. See quote.

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kikili (hole)

n. a large semisubterranean winter dwelling formerly used by certain Indian tribes, a typical example being 10-12 feet deep and 25-40 feet in diameter, covered with split logs and a layer of mud, and accommodating 12-15 persons.

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kill (off) a penalty

in hockey or lacrosse, attempt to prevent the opposition from scoring by controlling the play while one's own team is short-handed.

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kill off a penalty

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killer

n. the cross-log that falls on and kills the animal caught in a deadfall (def. 1).

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killer claw

See quote.

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killick 

n. See 1957 quote.

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killick-claw

n. See 1952 quote.

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Kinchotch man

n. an Englishman, as opposed to an American.

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Kinchotch wawa

the English language.

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king

1 n. an Indian chief.

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king duck

the king eider of the Arctic, Somateria spectabilis.

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King George

(used attributively) of or having to do with Englishmen or subjects of King George, the English king when white traders first appeared on the Pacific coast, the term being adopted with this meaning into the Chinook Jargon and used in contrast to Boston.

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King George('s) man

1 n. an Englishman, as opposed to an American.

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king hair

See 1819 quote.

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king log

See key-log.

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king salmon 

a Chinook salmon.

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King's Domain

a vast tract of land lying north of the Lower St. Lawrence and originally belonging to the French kings, who leased the trading rights to traders, a practice taken over by the British government after 1760.

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King's girl

one of the women sent to New France by Louis XIV as wives for settlers.

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King's Pine

choice white pine marked with a broad arrow and claimed as government property for use as spars and masts for the navy.

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King's post

1 n. one of a number of fur-trading and fishing posts in Quebec, most of them in the King's Domain.

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King's Posts Company

See quote.

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King's Printer 

1 the publisher of a newspaper authorized by the government to print laws and proclamations as well as the debates and proceedings of Parliament.

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King's steer

a moose taken out of season (a euphemism).

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King's Woods

tracts of timberland in British North America set aside as a source of lumber, especially for masts and spars.

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king-nipper

n. See quote.

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kingmik

n. the Eskimo dog, native to the Canadian Arctic.

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kink

n. a short sleep; nap.

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kinnikinik

1 n. a smoking mixture varying as to ingredients from tribe to tribe and place to place, but including bearberry or sumac leaves, the inner bark of red-osier dogwood and, often, tobacco.

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Kintshotsh (man)

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Kirmess 

n. a fair or bazaar held to raise money for charity.

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kissing dance

a dance at the end of which the dancing couples kiss, popular at New Year's parties.

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kit ((1))

n. the young of any of the smaller fur-bearing animals, especially of the fox.

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kit ((2))

n. the killer whale, as characterized on the totem poles of West Coast Indians.

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kit fox

1a a small fox, Vulpes velox hebes, once common on the prairies.

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Kitchee Manitoo

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kitchen

1 n. See quote.

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kitchen dresser

See quote.

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kitchen horse

a pack-horse that carries the cooking utensils and the grub-box.

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kitt

1a n. a small fox, Vulpes velox hebes, once common on the prairies.

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kitty-bar-the-door

adj. or attrib. in sports, a strongly defensive style of play, often adopted by a team already ahead in goals.

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klahowya(h)

1 n. (a salutation) Greetings! How are you?

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klatawa ((n.))

n. a journey.

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klatawa ((v.))

v. go; travel.

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Klondigger

n. a person who took part in the Klondike gold rush.

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Klondike

1 n. a region in the Yukon Territory, including the Klondike river and its tributary creeks, scene of the great gold rush of the late 1890's.

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Klondike (-type) chimney

a safety chimney consisting of two concentric sheet-metal cylinders joined at top and bottom by perforated collars which allow an exchange of air, thus preventing over-heating of the stovepipe, which passes upward within the inner cylinder.

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Klondike bicycle

See quote.

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Klondike fever

the excitement and lust for gold generated by the Klondike gold rush.

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Klondike game

a game of solitaire in which 28 cards are laid out in seven piles, the first of which has one card face up, the second two cards with the top one face up, and so on, the player using the rest of the deck and the exposed cards to build runs of alternating colors in an attempt to use up all the cards and thus make four complete runs. Also Klondike.

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Klondike gold rush

the great stampede of gold-seekers to the Yukon beginning in 1897.

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Klondike heater

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Klondike king

one of the gold miners in the Klondike who struck it rich.

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Klondike marriage

a common-law marriage.

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Klondike Night

a social affair where people dress as sourdoughs, hurdy-gurdy girls, etc., men often growing beards for the occasion, which includes numerous games of chance played with stage money.

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Klondike rush

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Klondike sleigh

See quote.

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Klondike stove

See 1922 quote.

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Klondike Trail

a route through the western prairies and B.C. leading to the Klondike.

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Klondiker

n. a person who took part in the Klondike gold rush.

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klooch

n. an Indian woman; wife; squaw.

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kloochman

1 n. an Indian woman; wife; squaw.

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kloshe

adj. good.

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knight 

n. the representative of a riding (def. 1) in a provincial house of assembly.

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Knight of the Red Wig

William Lyon Mackenzie, 1795-1861, leader of the radical Reformers responsible for the 1837 Rebellion in Upper Canada (a derogatory allusion to his red hair).

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Kodiak bear

an enormous grizzly bear, Ursus middendorfi of N.W. Canada and S. Alaska.

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kokanee

n. a dwarf landlocked salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi, native to southern British Columbia.

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komatik ((n.))

n. an open Eskimo dog-sled.

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komatik ((v.))

v. travel in a komatik.

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kooleta(h)

n. a hooded outer garment of fur or other material.

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kossack

1 n. a short sealskin jacket of the pullover type.

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krang 

n. the carcass of a whale; whale meat.

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kudlik

n. a shallow, crescent-shaped dish of soapstone in which seal-oil or caribou fat is burned to provide light and heat for cooking in an Eskimo home.

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kuletuk

1 n. a hooded outer garment of fur or other material. See picture at atigi (def. 2).

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kumtux

v. understand; know; believe.

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kwunusela

n. See quote.

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kya(c)k

n. See kayak'. kyack n. See kink'.

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