Chinook Jargon


noun

a pidgin based largely on Nootka, Lower Chinook, French, and English, once widely used as a lingua franca from Alaska to Oregon.

Origin of Chinook Jargon

First recorded in 1830–40

British Dictionary definitions for chinook jargon

Chinook Jargon

noun

a pidgin language containing elements of Native American languages, English, and French: formerly used among fur traders and Indians on the NW coast of North America