Sahaptin

[ sah-hap-tuh n ]

/ sɑˈhæp tən /

a member of an American Indian people of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

a language used by several American Indian tribes, including the Nez Percés, of the Columbia River basin.

of or relating to the Sahaptins or to their languages.

Also Shahaptian.

Origin of Sahaptin

From the Southern Interior Salish word sʕaptnx Nez Percé, Sahaptin

In the Nahuatl, Sahaptin, and Selish families it is most prominent.

First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution |Various
Fig. 256 represents a Sahaptin sign given to the writer by a gentleman long familiar with the northwestern tribes of Indians.

Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes |Garrick Mallery
Neither are there wanting affinities to the Sahaptin and Cays languages, allied to each other.

Opuscula |Robert Gordon Latham
Of all these tribes, the Nez Perces or Sahaptin were the most numerous and progressive.

The Life of Isaac Ingalls Stevens, Volume II (of 2) |Hazard Stevens

Again, the Shoshoni and Sahaptin have several words in common, and those out of short vocabularies.

Opuscula |Robert Gordon Latham

Sahaptin

/ (sɑːˈhæptɪn) /

plural -tins, -tans, -tians, -tin, -tan or -tian a member of a North American Indian people of Oregon and Washington, including the Nez Percé

the language of this people

Ancient name: Shahaptin ( ʃəˈhæptɪn)