bidarka

American  

[bahy-dahr-kuh] / baɪˈdɑr kə /

Sometimes bidara or baidarka

noun

1. a sealskin boat used by primarily by the Alaskan Aleuts.

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bidarka British  

/ baɪˈdɑːkiː, baɪˈdɑːkə /

noun

1. a canoe covered in animal skins, esp sealskin, used by the Inuit of Alaska

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Etymology

Origin of bidarka

First recorded in 1825–35; from Russian baĭdárka, equivalent to baĭdár(a) “kind of river craft” (apparently akin to baĭdák “river craft, barge,” Old Russian baidakŭ, bodakŭ, of obscure origin) + -ka diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

They hurried the bidarka across the sea-wall to the open water of the bay.

From The Young Alaskans by Hough, Emerson

With his own paddle in his left hand clinched against the rim of the bidarka hatch, the chief with his right hand slowly and deliberately raised the nogock and its slate-tipped harpoon.

From The Young Alaskans by Hough, Emerson

There be room in his bidarka for two, and he would that thou earnest with him.

From Brown Wolf and Other Jack London Stories Chosen and Edited By Franklin K. Mathiews by London, Jack

For instance, that hood around the bidarka is made out of this sort of thing, I believe.

From The Young Alaskans by Hough, Emerson

“But suppose the bidarka is gone—he very probably took that with him.”

From The Young Alaskans by Hough, Emerson