1 adj. — obsolete, British Columbia
great, many.
Type: 1. Origin — Hyiu is the result of lexical transfer from Chinook Jargon, a pidgin language that arose in the 19th century and was spoken well into the 20th century in BC and the Pacific Northwest to facilitate communication between trade communities. It is based on Lower Chinook, Nootka, French and English, with some influence from other Aboriginal languages (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference, s.v. "Chinook Wawa"). Hyiu in particular comes from Nootka and is often used in conjunction with the term muckamuck, meaning 'food'. Because of the phonetic resemblance of hyiu to "high", the phrase "high muckamuck" eventually began to denote a person of high standing, literally 'a person who has a lot of food' (see high muckamuck).
See also: high muckamuck hyas hyiu muckamuck skookum
2 adv. — obsolete, British Columbia
very, much.
Type: 1. Origin — See meaning 1.
See also: hyiu-skookum skookum
- This adverb is often used in conjunction with skookum, another word from Chinook Jargon meaning 'powerful' or 'strong' (see hyiu-skookum).