Quick links
saltchuck
[< blend of English 'salt' and Nootka 'water']
DCHP-2 (Dec 2016)
Spelling variants:salt chuck, salt-chuck, Salt Chuck, Salt-Chuck
n. — British Columbia, now quite rare
the ocean or seawater, including tidal areas and channels.
Type: 1. Origin — The term was borrowed from Chinook Jargon, a contact language developed to facilitate trade along the west coast and used from the early 19th to the mid 20th century (see the 1889 and 1981 quotations, see Canadian Encyclopedia reference, but see the 2015 quotation for relic speakers). Although the term is also found in the US Pacific Northwest, saltchuck is most prevalent in Canada (see Chart 1). DARE (s.v. "saltchuck") dates its earliest attestations to 1868 and 1899.
Gregg (1995: 185) describes saltchuck as a "hybrid compound", combining the English "salt" with the Nootka "ch'a'ak", meaning 'water'. He also notes (1995: 185) that the term is more common among the older generation in BC, particularly the men. It is also partly preserved in place names, e.g. Skookumchuck Rapids on the Sunshine Coast, BC (see the 1889 quotation).
As Chart 1 shows, the terms is most frequent in Canada, with a good showing in the US. Within Canada (Chart 2), BC stands out, with only occasional mentions in Alberta (due to relative proximity) and Ontario (due to connections with BC).
See also Gage-5, s.v. "salt chuck", which is marked "Cdn", and ITP Nelson, s.v. "salt chuck", which is marked "British Columbia & US Pacific Northwest".
Gregg (1995: 185) describes saltchuck as a "hybrid compound", combining the English "salt" with the Nootka "ch'a'ak", meaning 'water'. He also notes (1995: 185) that the term is more common among the older generation in BC, particularly the men. It is also partly preserved in place names, e.g. Skookumchuck Rapids on the Sunshine Coast, BC (see the 1889 quotation).
As Chart 1 shows, the terms is most frequent in Canada, with a good showing in the US. Within Canada (Chart 2), BC stands out, with only occasional mentions in Alberta (due to relative proximity) and Ontario (due to connections with BC).
See also Gage-5, s.v. "salt chuck", which is marked "Cdn", and ITP Nelson, s.v. "salt chuck", which is marked "British Columbia & US Pacific Northwest".
Quotations
1861
Merchant said nothing, but, when stranger's back was turned, quietly sent his clerk after pants and when the credit system was broached and the pumping for salt chuck commenced, handed "distinguished-looking stranger" No. 2 his old duds and ordered off the "peg-tops" instanter.
1872
Salt. Salt or a salt taste. Salt chuck, the sea.
1889
Chuck, n. Water; a river or stream. Salt chuck, the sea; Skookum chuck, a rapid; Solleks chuck, a rough sea; chuck chahko or kilipi, the tide rises or falls; saghilli and keekwillie chuck, high and low tide.
1910
It was the only time he ever talked to me when he did not use emphasizing gesticulations. His hands never once lifted, his wonderful eyes alone gave expression to what he called "The Legend of the Salt-Chuck Oluk (Sea-Serpent)."
1947
To top it all the loggers employed by Messrs. Godfrey, Alexander and Cornish make each pulpwood pole take an aristocratic summersault before reaching the barge, and any that miss and take to the salt chuck are retrieved by our aristocratic beachcombers who make their living by the sea at Sleepy Hollow.
1956
Last Saturday afternoon Mac Handford and his father, recently arrived from Ottawa to take up residence here, spent an hour's fishing in the Salt Chuck. Total take - four spring salmon weighing out at 120 pounds.
1963
The salt chuck is still supplying us with some excellent catches of herring. Herring can now be taken right from the side of the graving dock with gang hooks, dip nets or herring rakes.
1973
Other Indian-based words that have entered common usage include chum, coho, sockeye and tyee (different members of the salmon family); chuck (a body of water); saltchuck (sea water); klahanie (the great outdoors) and tillicum (friend).
<i>c</i>1857
"Hist . . . Before sun up you white men go . . . to salt-chuck (ocean). Indian kill all white men in canyon."
1981
Many words found on the West Coast come from a language known as the Chinook Jargon, which it's thought was already being spoken when the first Europeans came to B.C. It was a contact language used for communication and trade between Indian bands that spoke mutually unintelligible languages. West Coast residents familiar with boating and fishing, for example, know the word "saltchuck," which means ocean or salt water. "But the word wouldn't be known in the east at all," Dr. Gregg said. The "chuck" part is Chinook.
1992
The lodge organizes numerous salmon-fishing tours of the legendary saltchuck around Campbell River. Hiking, horseback riding, cycling and beachcombing are also available.
2010
"When you are away from home living in a canoe for three months, you leave your problems with other people on the beach, there is no room for them out there," Mitchell says, pointing to the roiling saltchuck a few metres away.
References
- Gage-5
- ITP Nelson
- Gregg (1995)
- Canadian Encyclopedia • "Chinook Wawa"
- DARE
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 26 Nov. 2012
