The story
From an Algonquian word meaning rough, probably from Eastern Abenaki / Penobscot *kkwὰhas. Compare Massachusett kushki (“(it is) rough”). Compare English cocash.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
cohosh
Today it means: A perennial American herb (Caulophyllum thalictroides), the rough rootstock of which is used in medicine. Full definition →