Tlingit

noun

Tlin·​git ˈtliŋ-kət How to pronounce Tlingit (audio)
-gət,
 also  ˈkliŋ-
1
plural Tlingit or Tlingits : a member of a group of First Nations peoples of the islands and coast of southern Alaska
2
: the language of the Tlingit peoples
Tlingit adjective

Examples of Tlingit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
One example is last year’s soft opening on remote Prince of Wales Island of a new port in Klawock, a small town with a rich Tlingit heritage and a renowned totem park. Fran Golden, AFAR Media, 26 Mar. 2025 But cruise ships were already regularly sailing into Glacier Bay, the historic homeland of the Tlingit band, now based on Chichagof Island, about 35 miles west of Juneau. Elaine Glusac, Travel + Leisure, 18 Mar. 2025 Latest acknowledgement Last month, the Navy conducted a similar apology, for the burning and bombardment of the Tlingit village of Kake in 1869, according to Alaska Public Media. Max Hauptman, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2024 During the following decades, Russians engaged in constant conflict with Alaskan Natives, especially the Tlingit. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2025 The artist who created it, Nicholas Galanin is Tlingit and Unangax from Sitka, Alaska. Greg Allen, NPR, 5 Dec. 2024 In Tlingit culture, the story of how the world came to see light starts with a willful bird whose ability to shape-shift shakes up the status quo. Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Nov. 2024 According to the Naval Heritage and History Command, accounts from the time say members of the Tlingit tribe forced the whaling ship to shore and took multiple hostages from the crew, along with demanding a ransom of 200 blankets, prompting the call for help by local officials from the Navy. Max Hauptman, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2024 Ashley Sullivan Creative Kate Nelson, an Alaska Native Tlingit tribal member, is an award-winning writer and editor living in Minneapolis who regularly covers Indigenous travel experiences. Kate Nelson, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Tlingit łi·ngít human being

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Tlingit was in 1865

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Cite this Entry

“Tlingit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Tlingit. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

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