malakwa

[hzenk at PDX.EDU]

Hello all,

Don't remember if this has received attention on the list before, but there is a
word for 'mosquito' that appears as "malakwa" or "melakwa" in a number of the
old "Chinook" dictionaries.  Gibbs cites French MARANGOUIN as the source, but
none of the native French speakers I've asked so far even recognize the word.
Can anyone clarify where this word comes from, and whence it would have entered
Chinuk Wawa (presumably, sometime during the early 19th century)?  Thanks, Henry

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