Nooksack Valley
/ˈnʊk.sæk ˈvæl.i/noun
A valley in northwestern Washington formed around the Nooksack River and associated with the Nooksack people.
Did you know?“Nooksack” is an English rendering of an Indigenous Nooksack name, but scholars have not established a universally accepted literal translation.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Nooksack
Nooksack
“An Indigenous ethnonym and place-name whose precise original meaning remains uncertain.”
18th–19th Century
English
Nooksack
“An anglicized form used for the Nooksack people and the river in their traditional region.”
19th Century
English
Nooksack River
“The river name from which the surrounding geographic names were derived.”
13th Century
Old French
valee
“A valley or lowland between hills.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vallis
“A valley, hollow, or enclosed low area.”
Modern English
English
Nooksack Valley
“The geographic valley associated with the Nooksack River in Washington State.”
Explore more surprising origins