Okanagan Lake
/ˌoʊkəˈnɑːɡən leɪk/noun
A large lake in British Columbia, Canada, within the traditional territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) peoples.
Did you know?“Okanagan” is an English rendering of an Indigenous name associated with the Syilx peoples, but scholars caution that its precise original meaning and linguistic pathway are not certain.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Syilx
Okanagan-related Indigenous forms
“An Indigenous name associated with the Syilx people and the Okanagan region; the precise original form and meaning are debated.”
18th–19th Century
Indigenous languages
Okanagan / variants
“Names for the people, territory, and surrounding geographic region circulated in forms recorded by European visitors.”
19th Century
English
Okanagan
“An anglicized spelling used for the Indigenous people and the interior region of present-day British Columbia.”
Old English
Old English
lacu
“A stream, pool, or body of water.”
Middle English
Middle English
lake
“A large inland body of water, borrowed through French from Latin lacus.”
Modern English
English
Okanagan Lake
“The established English geographical name for the lake in British Columbia.”