Sockeye
/ˈsɑːk.aɪ/noun
A Pacific salmon species known for its red spawning color and valued flesh.
Did you know?“Sockeye” entered English through Chinook Jargon from a Halkomelem Salish word meaning a kind of salmon, showing how trade languages can preserve Indigenous knowledge in unexpected ways.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact Indigenous North America
Halkomelem
sə́k̓ʷəyə́
“a type of salmon”
19th Century
Chinook Jargon
sáqʷi
“sockeye salmon”
19th Century
English
sockeye
“the red-fleshed Pacific salmon”
Modern English
English
sockeye
“a Pacific salmon species, especially Oncorhynchus nerka”