quinzhee

Q10U1I1N1Z10H4E1E1
/ˈkwɪnziː/

noun

A shelter made by hollowing out a pile of snow.

OriginSouth Slavey kǫ́ yíi ← ['xsl ', →
Scrabble 29
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Meanings

nounquinzhee (plural quinzhees)

plural quinzhees · alternative quinzee · alternative quin-zhee

  1. CanadaA shelter made by hollowing out a pile of snow.

    Knowing the proper art of building a quin-zhee could have saved me and my friends from many snow fort cave-ins when young.

    1990 February 1, Sue Lebrecht, “You need patience building snow fort”, in Toronto Star, page A23

Origin

  1. ['xsl',
  2. South Slaveykǫ́ yíi
  3. Englishquinzhee

Borrowed from South Slavey kǫ́ yíi (“in the house”).

More words from South Slavey, ['xsl

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French quinzy
  • quinzyTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

quinzhee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quinzhee

MLA

“quinzhee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quinzhee. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quinzhee,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quinzhee.

Source: quinzhee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.