Eskimo

[ es-kuh-moh ]

noun

, plural Es·ki·mos, (especially collectively) Es·ki·mo

1. Sometimes Offensive. a member of a group of Indigenous peoples of Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska, and northeastern Siberia.
2. any of the languages of these peoples, divided into two branches: Inuit, spoken in Greenland, Canada, and northern Alaska, and Yupik, spoken in southern Alaska and Siberia.

adjective

1. Sometimes Offensive. of or relating to a group of Indigenous peoples of Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska, and northeastern Siberia or their languages.

Eskimo

/ ˈɛskɪˌməʊ /

noun

1. -mos-mo a member of a group of peoples inhabiting N Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and E Siberia, having a material culture adapted to an extremely cold climate
2. the language of these peoples
3. a family of languages that includes Eskimo and Aleut

adjective

1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of the Eskimos

Usage

Eskimo is considered by many to be offensive, and in North America the term Inuit is usually preferred. Inuit , however, can be accurately applied only to those Aboriginal peoples inhabiting parts of Northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland (as distinguished from those in Asia or the Aleutian Islands)

Sensitive 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. Canadians, as well as many Americans (especially Indigenous Alaskans), consider Eskimo derogatory, in part because the word was, erroneously, long thought to mean literally “eater of raw meat.” Inuit , properly a more specific term referring to speakers of the Inuit language, has come to be used in a wider sense to name all people traditionally called Eskimo, regardless of local self-designations. Anthropologically, the term Native American is sometimes used to include these peoples, as well as the Aleuts. However, the term Indian, still commonly used for a number of Indigenous people of the Americas, is not applied to the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut of Arctic North America. Eskimo continues to be used in certain contexts, especially in historical and archaeological reference to these peoples as a cultural and linguistic group. However, broad use of Eskimo, as in marketing and branding, has largely been rejected, and products, sports teams, or companies that used the word in the past are finding new names.

Other Words From

• Es·ki·mo·an adjective
• Es·ki·moid [es, -k, uh, -moid], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Eskimo¹

First recorded in 1575–85; from earlier Esqimawe(s), apparently via French (of 16th-century Basque fishermen), from Spanish esquimao(s), from Montagnais ( French spelling) aiachkimeou- a name for the Mi'kmaq, extended or transferred to the Labrador Eskimo among the eastern Montagnais; perhaps literally, “snowshoe-netter” (compare Ojibwe aškime· “to net snowshoes”); husky ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of Eskimo¹

C18 from Algonquian Esquimawes

Example Sentences

Fox News producers nicknamed the Palins “The Bitch” and “The Eskimo.”

From The Daily Beast

The day ends in Iowa, of all places, with a one-sentence entry: “Christian K. Nelson took out a patent on the Eskimo Pie.”

From The Daily Beast

We wait for the two to just Eskimo kiss in the corner underneath the mistletoe already.

From The Daily Beast

Further, the decision is tailored so narrowly that, were it legislation, it would be a classic “redheaded Eskimo.”

From The Daily Beast

I half-expected to see an Eskimo in a huskie-driven sled whiz by.

From The Daily Beast

The Indian pipe is copied from the Eskimo, as the latter were the first to obtain and use tobacco.

From Project Gutenberg

The Chukchees use a pipe similar to those of the Eskimo, but with a much larger and shorter stem.

From Project Gutenberg

Fortunately, the Eskimo has taught us that the skin really can be cleansed with oil as well as with water.

From Project Gutenberg

After the birds came the Eskimo cases, and after them, those given over to the American Indians.

From Project Gutenberg

The Eskimo of Greenland, at the other end of the world, divide their tales into two classes: the ancient and the modern.

From Project Gutenberg