Inuit
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
First attested 1755–65. From Inuktitut ᐃᓄᐃᑦ (inuit, “the people”), singular ᐃᓄᒃ (inuk, “person”), from Proto-Inuit *inuɣ.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
Inuit (plural Inuits or Inuit)
Inuit pl (plural only)
SynonymsEdit
- Eskimo (potentially offensive in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, neutral elsewhere)
- Inuk (proper singular form, uncommon outside Canada)
- Inuits (somewhat improper plural, rare)
- Inupiat, Inupiaq, Iñupiaq, or Inupik (Alaska)
- Inuvialuit (Northwest Territories)
- Inuinnaq (Western Nunavut, Central Arctic Canada)
- Nunavummiut (Nunavut)
- Nunavimmiut (Nunavik, Northern Quebec)
- Labrador Inuit (Nunatsiavut, Labrador)
- Greenlander (Greenland)
- Kalaallit (southwest Greenland)
- Skraeling (historical)
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
Proper nounEdit
Inuit
- Inuktitut, the Inuit language.
SynonymsEdit
- Inupiatun, or Inupiak, and Qawiaraq (Alaska)
- Inuvialuktun (Northwest Territories)
- Inuinnaqtun (Western Nunavut, Central Arctic Canada)
- Inuktitut (Nunavut)
- Nunavimmiutitut (Nunavik, Northern Quebec)
- Nunatsiavummiutut, Labradorimiutut, or locally Inuttut (Nunatsiavut, Labrador)
- Greenlandic, or Kalaallisut (Greenland)
TranslationsEdit
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AdjectiveEdit
Inuit (comparative more Inuit, superlative most Inuit)
- Of or pertaining to Inuit people, language, or culture.
Usage notesEdit
The northern indigenous peoples of North America used to be called Eskimo, but the term has declined in usage in North America because it was erroneously thought to derive from a pejorative; see the usage notes at Eskimo. Inuit is the accepted term in Canada, and has gained some currency in the United States. However, Eskimo continues to be the prevalent name in Alaska, and worldwide, for both the Inuit Inupiat people and the non-Inuit Yupik.
Also note that the terms Inuit and Eskimo do not include the related Aleut people (Unangam), nor the other Native (First Nations) peoples of the Arctic.
Many dictionaries do not list Inuits as a plural form. Inuit is usually used as an ethnonym with no singular form (like Chinese). The need to treat Inuit as a singular has been obviated by wider recognition of its etymological singular form Inuk in recent times.
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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NounEdit
Inuit
ReferencesEdit
- “Inuit” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
- “Inuit” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- Inuit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Eskimo on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Inuktitut on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Inuit language on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Inuktitut ᐃᓄᐃᑦ (inuit, “the people”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
Inuit m (plural Inuits, feminine Inuite)
- Inuit (people)
Related termsEdit
ReferencesEdit
InuktitutEdit
NounEdit
Inuit