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Inuit

or In·nu·it

[ in-oo-it, -yoo- ]

noun

, plural In·u·its, (especially collectively) In·u·it
  1. a member of a group of Indigenous peoples inhabiting northernmost North America from northern Alaska to eastern Canada and Greenland.
  2. the language of the Inuit, a member of the Eskimo-Aleut family comprising a variety of dialects.


Inuit

/ ˈɪnjuːɪt /

noun

  1. any of several Native peoples of N America or Greenland, as distinguished from those from Asia or the Aleutian Islands (who are still generally referred to as Eskimos); the preferred term for Eskimo in N America Compare Yupik
  2. the language of these peoples; Inuktitut
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Usage

See Eskimo
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Sensitive Note

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Inuit1

First recorded in 1755–65; from Inuit: literally, “people,” plural of inuk “person”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of Inuit1

from Inuktitut inuit the people, pl of inuk a man
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Compare Meanings

How does Inuit compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

She modeled her lightweight, 11-inch-tall, moose-hide Klondike after the footwear their Inuit friends wore.

While staying with an Inuit family in a village above the Arctic Circle, I never once saw an adult argue with a child.

From Time

Many Inuit parents see arguing with children as silly and a waste of time, interpreter Elizabeth Tegumiar explained further.

From Time

Part memoir, part Inuit folklore, it’s been called “magic realism,” and that’s probably not an accurate label either, but it’s as close as one can get to a traditional name for this narrative of a girl growing up in Nunavut.

Ada Delutuk was born in 1898, 60 years before Alaska became the 49th state, and grew up in the Inuit settlement of Spruce Creek, Alaska.

From Ozy

Try explaining what a cucumber tastes like to a 19th century Inuit.

Discovered frozen in ice by two Inuit waterbenders, they begin a journey to help him access his full powers as avatar.

The commenter said Dodson is not a full-blooded member of any tribe and is in fact one-quarter Aleut, not Inuit.

Not that Western civilization has never embraced the mythical Inuit practice of leaving the old out on an ice floe.

Itajung became a highly respected man, for he was by far the best whaler in all the Inuit tribe.

They were much taller than the Inuit and had very long legs and arms, but their eyes were not as good.

They were on good terms with the Inuit and shared the same hunting ground, but lived in separate villages.

In days of old an enormous man lived with other members of the Inuit tribe in a village beside a large inlet.

Their strength was so great that they could hold a harpooned walrus as easily as the Inuit could hold a seal.

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in two shakesInuk