DCHP-2
keekwil(l)ie (house) kekuli, kikwilly, etc. [< Chinook Jargon, adv., below, underneath < Chinook gigwalix] B.C. DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
THIS ENTRY MAY CONTAIN OUTDATED INFORMATION, TERMS and EXAMPLES
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.
See also: kikili (hole)
- 1907 Besides this type of house they constructed for winter use an underground hut usually spoken of as a "keekwillie house"--"keekwillie" being Chinook for deep underground.
- 1915 The interior of his "dug-out" was more like an Indian kik-willy (ancient Indian house) than the dwelling of a modern Anglo-Saxon.
- 1949 . . . thirty or forty people would live together in the "keekwillie" houses, great semi-subterranean structures, warm and snug, safe from the below-zero temperatures.
- 1958 Just at that moment, August Gillard was emerging from his keekwillie.
- 1907 Besides this type of house they constructed for winter use an underground hut usually spoken of as a "keekwillie house"--"keekwillie" being Chinook for deep underground.