camas

Where does the word "camas" come from? It comes from Nez Perce qém̓es, passing through Chinook Jargon before entering English (1805).

Camas’s story begins in Nez Perce: qém̓es meant “sweet; the camas lily bulb.” Meant 'sweet', naming the starchy bulb of a blue-flowered lily prized as a food staple. By 1800s, the word had taken hold in Chinook Jargon as kamas. Spread into the Pacific Northwest trade language among many indigenous groups. It reached English by 1805 as camas. Recorded by the Lewis and Clark expedition after being fed camas bulbs by the Nez Perce. Today, camas means a blue-flowered lily of western North America with an edible bulb, historically a staple food.

1. Stage 1 · Nez Perce · pre-1800s qém̓es "sweet; the camas lily bulb", meant 'sweet', naming the starchy bulb of a blue-flowered lily prized as a food staple.
2. Stage 2 · Chinook Jargon · 1800s kamas "the edible bulb of the camas lily", spread into the Pacific Northwest trade language among many indigenous groups.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1805 camas "a blue-flowered lily with an edible starchy bulb", recorded by the Lewis and Clark expedition after being fed camas bulbs by the Nez Perce.