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.
The traditional Tsimshian community is also home to Tlingit, Aleut, Yupik and other Native Peoples, according to the state. Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 15 May 2025 An Alaska Native Tlingit tribal member, Kate Nelson is an award-winning independent journalist based in Minneapolis who focuses on amplifying important Indigenous change makers and issues. Kate Nelson, AFAR Media, 21 Apr. 2025 The Tlingit described it as the budding moon of plants and shrubs, the Cherokee called it the flower moon, and the Apache referred to it as the moon of the big leaves, according to Western Washington University’s site. Kameryn Griesser, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2025 The exhibition opens with two photographs—one by Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂) and another by Zoë Urness (Tlingit)—that together hint at differing interpretations of the show’s titular term. Julia Silverman, ARTnews.com, 1 Apr. 2025 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

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 23 May. 2025.

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