Wishram

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An indigenous people of the Columbia River region in the Pacific Northwest ; the Chinookan language historically spoken by that community
2. A Native American nation living along the middle Columbia River ; the Chinookan tongue once spoken by these people
3. A group of Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest along the Columbia River ; the language used by members of that same community

Etymology: Wishram is the name of a Chinookan-speaking people who lived along the Columbia River in what is now Washington State, centred on the rapids near present-day The Dalles, Oregon. The name is applied to the people, and the Wishram place name was taken from them. The word is a proper noun, so it entered English as a name for the community rather than as a common word, and its use in English follows the tribe's identity and the geography of the river they lived beside.