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noun, plural Es·ki·mos, (especially collectively) Es·ki·mo for 1.
1.
a member of an indigenous people of Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska, and northeastern Siberia, characterized by short, stocky build and light-brown complexion.
2.
either of two related languages spoken by the Eskimos, one in Greenland, Canada, and northern Alaska, the other in southern Alaska and Siberia.
Origin:
1575–85; < earlier Esqimawe(s), apparently via French (of 16th-century Basque fishermen) < Spanish esquimao(s) < Montagnais (French spelling) aiachkimeou- a name for the Micmac, extended or transferred to the Labrador Eskimo among the eastern Montagnais; perhaps literally, snowshoe-netter (compare Ojibwa aškime· to net snowshoes); compare husky
1575–85; < earlier Esqimawe(s), apparently via French (of 16th-century Basque fishermen) < Spanish esquimao(s) < Montagnais (French spelling) aiachkimeou- a name for the Micmac, extended or transferred to the Labrador Eskimo among the eastern Montagnais; perhaps literally, snowshoe-netter (compare Ojibwa aškime· to net snowshoes); compare husky
Related forms
Es·ki·mo·an, adjective
pro-Es·ki·mo, adjective, noun, plural pro-Es·ki·mos, pro-Es·ki·mo.
Usage note
The name Inuit, by which the native people of the Arctic from northern Alaska to western Greenland call themselves, has largely supplanted Eskimo in Canada and is used officially by the Canadian government. Many Inuit consider Eskimo derogatory, in part because the word was, erroneously, long thought to mean literally “eater of raw meat.” Inuit has also come to be used in a wider sense, to name all people traditionally called Eskimo, regardless of local self-designations. Nonetheless, Eskimo continues in use in all parts of the world, especially in historical and archaeological contexts and in reference to the people as a cultural and linguistic unity. EXPANDThe term Native American is sometimes used to include Eskimo and Aleut peoples. See also Indian.
COLLAPSE
The name Inuit, by which the native people of the Arctic from northern Alaska to western Greenland call themselves, has largely supplanted Eskimo in Canada and is used officially by the Canadian government. Many Inuit consider Eskimo derogatory, in part because the word was, erroneously, long thought to mean literally “eater of raw meat.” Inuit has also come to be used in a wider sense, to name all people traditionally called Eskimo, regardless of local self-designations. Nonetheless, Eskimo continues in use in all parts of the world, especially in historical and archaeological contexts and in reference to the people as a cultural and linguistic unity. EXPANDThe term Native American is sometimes used to include Eskimo and Aleut peoples. See also Indian.
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Eskimo
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
Eskimo
1580s, from Dan. Eskimo or M.Fr. Esquimaux (pl.), both probably from an Algonquian word, such as Abenaki askimo (pl. askimoak), Ojibwa ashkimeq, lit. "eaters of raw meat," from Proto-Algonquian *ask- "raw" + *-imo "eat." The Eskimo people's word for themselves is Innuit "men." Eskimo pie "chocolate-coated
EXPANDice cream bar" introduced 1921.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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