I don't have a clue, I've never heard of a "chnook" And the only thing remotly similair to it in the DICTIONARY is the following:5 entries found for chinook.
chi·nook Pronunciation Key (sh-nk, ch-)
n.
1. A moist warm wind blowing from the sea in coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest.
2. A warm dry wind that descends from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, causing a rapid rise in temperature.
[Short for Chinook wind.]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Chi·nook Pronunciation Key (sh-nk, ch-)
n. pl. Chinook or Chi·nooks
1.
1. A Native American people formerly inhabiting the lower Columbia River valley and adjoining coastal regions of Washington and Oregon, now located in western Washington. The Chinook traded widely throughout the Pacific Northwest.
2. A member of this people.
3. The Chinookan language of the Chinook.
2.
1. Any of various Chinookan-speaking peoples formerly inhabiting the Columbia River valley eastward to The Dalles and now located in southern Washington and northern Oregon.
2. A member of any of these peoples.
[Chehalis (Salishan language of western Washington) c'inúk.]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
chinook
\Chi*nook"\, n. 1. (Ethnol.) One of a tribe of North American Indians now living in the state of Washington, noted for the custom of flattening their skulls. Chinooks also called Flathead Indians.
2. A warm westerly wind from the country of the Chinooks, sometimes experienced on the slope of the Rocky Mountains, in Montana and the adjacent territory.
3. A jargon of words from various languages (the largest proportion of which is from that of the Chinooks) generally understood by all the Indian tribes of the northwestern territories of the United States.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
chinook
n 1: a warm dry wind blowing down the E slopes of the Rockies [syn: chinook wind, snow eater] 2: a member of an important North American Indian people who controlled the mouth of the Columbia river; they were organized into settlements rather than tribes [syn: Chinook] 3: pink or white flesh of large Pacific salmon [syn: chinook salmon, king salmon] 4: a Penutian language spoken by the Chinook people [syn: Chinookan, Chinook] 5: large Pacific salmon valued as food; adults die after spawning [syn: chinook salmon, king salmon, quinnat salmon, Onchorynchus tshawtscha]
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University
chinook, MT (city, FIPS 14575)
Location: 48.59040 N, 109.23123 W
Population (1990): 1512 (801 housing units)
Area: 1.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 59523
Source: U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau