Carquinez

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A narrow strait in northern California that links San Pablo Bay with Suisun Bay as part of the San Francisco Bay estuary system
2. The channel in California that connects San Pablo and Suisun bays, forming a tidal passage near the Carquinez Bridge region
3. A tidal waterway in central northern California joining two bays of the San Francisco estuary and named after the Carquinez people

Etymology: Carquinez is a place name rather than a common word: it belongs to the Carquinez Strait, the narrow channel of San Francisco Bay where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers meet the ocean. The name comes from the Karkin, a Native people of the Bay Area whose homeland included the strait and its shores, and it was adopted into Spanish-language records of the region during the Spanish and Mexican periods of California. The Karkin spoke a language of their own, and the name reflects their presence there rather than any Spanish or Latin root. The name was later fixed in English-language maps and usage as the strait and nearby towns, bridges and the Carquinez Bridge took on the name. Because the form was shaped by Spanish spelling conventions, the "qu" is pronounced "k," and the name is typically heard as "car-KEEN-ez."