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keekwil(l)ie (house)
[< Chinook Jargon, adv., below, underneath < Chinook gigwalix]
B.C.
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Spelling variants:kekuli, kikwilly, etc.
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.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: kikili (hole)
Quotations
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.