saltchuck

S1A1L1T1C3H4U1C3K5

noun

Any body of saltwater, especially the ocean.

OriginChinook Jargon saltchuck ← English salt ← Nootka č̕aʔak →
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nounsaltchuck (plural saltchucks)

plural saltchucks · alternative salt chuck

  1. British ColumbiaNorthwesternUSWashingtonAny body of saltwater, especially the ocean.

    The ultimate consensus was to keep the de-Whited river Green to its Tukwila junction with the Black, the outlet of Lake Washington, then make it Duwamish the rest of the way to the saltchuck.

    2002, Harvey Manning, Penny Manning, Ira Spring, Winter Walks and Hikes: Puget Sound, page 155
    1 more example

    Trucks disappeared over precipices, rail cars were shunted into the saltchuck, and donkey engines collapsed from old age. […] However, if it was abandoned anywhere near the saltchuck, it was probably picked up by one of the entrepreneurs […]

    2011, Betty Keller, Rosella Leslie, Bright Seas, Pioneer Spirits: A History of the Sunshine Coast, page 130

Origin

  1. Nootkač̕aʔak“water”
  2. Englishsalt
  3. Chinook Jargonsaltchuck“the sea”
  4. Englishsaltchuck

Borrowed from Chinook Jargon saltchuck (“the sea”, literally “saltwater”), from salt (“salt”) (from English salt) + chuck (“water”) from Nootka č̕aʔak (“water”).

More words from Chinook Jargon, English, Nootka

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

saltchuck. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saltchuck

MLA

“saltchuck.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saltchuck. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “saltchuck,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saltchuck.

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