Səl̓ílwətaɬ
/səˈlil.wə.tɬ/noun
A Lushootseed name for Seattle, Washington, used in Indigenous cultural and educational contexts.
Did you know?The name is connected to Lushootseed-speaking peoples and to the Indigenous name Si’ahl, later anglicized as “Seattle,” preserving a trace of Coast Salish history in the city’s modern name.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Lushootseed
səl̓ílwətaɬ
“An Indigenous Lushootseed place-name associated with the Seattle area.”
19th Century
English
Seattle
“English rendering of the name of Chief Si’ahl, a Duwamish and Suquamish leader.”
1850s
English
Seattle
“The established English name of the American settlement founded on Duwamish and Coast Salish homelands.”
20th–21st Century
Lushootseed
səl̓ílwətaɬ
“Revitalized and used in cultural, educational, and place-based contexts as a Lushootseed name for Seattle.”