Appendix:English terms of Eskimo-Aleut origin
An offshoot of Appendix:English terms of Native American origin, this list includes common nouns which originated from Eskimo or Aleut languages. See here for a list of place names, personal names and tribe names derived from these languages. (If a common noun is also the name of a tribe, place or person (e.g. "malamute"), this is noted in this list only in the etymology.)
from Aleut languages edit
from Eskimo languages edit
from Inuit languages edit
specific language unclear edit
- kabloona — "(in Canada or Greenland) non-Inuit person (especially if European)" — said to be combination of Eastern Canadian Inuktitut qallunaaq (“foreigner”) and Greenlandic kablunâk (an older spelling of kallunaaq), if not a straightforward derivation of one or the other
- muktuk — "whale skin and blubber (as used as a food by the Inuit)" — Western Canadian Inuktitut [script needed] (maqtaq) or Inupiaq maktak (“whaleskin with attached blubber”)
- pingo — "hydrolaccolith, mound of earth-covered ice" — Greenlandic or Inuktitut pingu (“small hill”)
- tupilaq (also: tupilak, tupilat) — "monster (either invisible or having a physical form constructed from animal bones, sinew, etc) created in secret by a shaman and sent into the sea to seek and kill a specific enemy", "(small) representation of such a monster, often carved from whale bone" — from Greenlandic or Inuktitut (cognates exist in both languages} ᑐᐱᓚᒃ (topilak)
Greenlandic edit
- angakok (also: angekok, angekkok, angekut) — "Inuit shaman" — Greenlandic angakok (“shaman”) (synonymous with and cognate to "angatkuq", "angakkuq")
- anorak — "heavy weatherproof jacket with an attached hood" (in the UK also: "nerd") — Greenlandic annoraaq
- nunatak — "mountain (or mountain-top or ridge) surrounded by but not covered by ice: peak protruding from the surface of an ice sheet" — Greenlandic nunataq
Inuktitut edit
- chimo — "hello, goodbye" (a salutation, now generally used ironically) — Inuktitut ᓴᐃᒧ (saimo, “goodbye; peace be with you”)
- igloo — "durable dome-shaped shelter constructed of blocks cut from hard snow" — Inuktitut ᐃᒡᓗ (iclo) (contrast "quinzhee")
- inuksuk (also: inukshuk) — "structure of piled stones, designed to resemble a humanoid figure" — Inuktitut ᐃᓄᒃᓱᒃ (inoksok, “in the likeness of a human”)
- kamik — "mukluk, soft knee-high boot" — Inuktitut ᑲᒥᒃ (kamik, “boot, shoe, footwear”)
- ookpik — "handicraft toy stuffed owl, often made from wolf fur, sealskin or similar materials" — Inuktitut ᐅᒃᐱᒃ (okpik, “snowy owl”)
- Tiktaalik (sometimes: tiktaalik) — "taxonomic genus within the subclass Tetrapodomorpha", "member of this genus: an extinct fish which evolved to walk on land" — Inuktitut tiktaalik (“shallow-water fish”)
- ulu — "woman's knife" — Inuktitut ᐅᓗ (olo, “woman's knife”)
- Eastern Canadian Inuktitut
- angakkuq — "Inuit shaman" (male or female intellectual and spiritual mediator) — Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ (angatkoq, “shaman”) (synonymous with and cognate to "angatkuq", "angakok")
- komatik (also: qamutiq) — "rawhide-lashed sled/sleigh with wooden crossbars and runners" — Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᖃᒧᑎᒃ (qamotik)
- qiviut (also: qiviuq) — "underwool of the Arctic musk ox, used as fibre" — Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᕿᕕᐅᖅ (qifioq, “underwool”)
- qulliq (also: kudlik) — "particular soapstone lamp (produced and used by the Inuit)" — Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᖁᓪᓕᖅ (qolliq)
- Western Canadian Inuktitut
- angatkuq — "Inuit shaman" — Western Canadian Inuktitut angatkuq (synonymous with and cognate to "angakkuq", "angakok")
- kayak (also: kiak) — "small boat powered by the occupant(s) using a double-bladed paddle in a sitting position" (as a verb: "to travel in such a boat") — Western Canadian Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “man's boat; kayak; canoe”)
- umiak — "large, open boat made of skins stretched over a wooden frame, propelled by paddles" — Western Canadian Inuktitut ᐅᒥᐊᖅ (omiaq, “women's boat; sealskin boat; boat”)
Inupiaq edit
- malamute — "particular breed of husky dog" — from the name "Malamute" (from Inupiaq malimiut) applied to an Inupiak people who live in western Alaska and who bred these dogs
- masu — "Hedysarum alpinum, which has an edible root" — Inupiaq ᒪᓱ (masu, “edible root”)
- tupik — "tent-like type of Native American dwelling made from animal skins, used by the Inuit in the summer" — Inupiaq ᑐᐱᒃ (tupik)
- qargi — "traditional, large, semisubterranean men's communal house, in which communal and ceremonial events are hosted, kashim" — Inupiaq qargi (synonymous with "qasgiq")
from Yupik languages edit
specific language unclear edit
- kuspuk — "lightweight dress-like parka worn by (Eskimo) women", "overshirt worn by (Eskimo) men and women" — from a Yupik language term qaspeq
- qasgiq — "traditional, large, semisubterranean men's communal house, in which communal and ceremonial events are hosted, kashim" — from a Yupik language term qasgiq (synonymous with "qargi")