a member of a group of North American Indians that lived in the Blue Mountains section of NE Oreg.
the language of this people
a horse, esp. a small Western horse used by cowboys
See Cayuse in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(kī-yo͞osˈ, kīˈyo͞osˌ)
noun Pacific Northwest
A horse, especially an Indian pony.
Regional Note: The noun cayuse comes from the name of the Cayuse people in the Pacific Northwest. Cayuse is used chiefly in the territory of the word's origin—the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho—although its use has also spread into other Western states. A verb meaning “to buck,” derived from the noun, is cited by Ramon F. Adams in Old-Time Cowhand (1961): “What cowboys in other sections called buckin', the Texan called pitchin', and a term used in South Texas, though seldom heard in other sections, was cayusein'.”
