Appendix:English terms of Eskimo-Aleut origin

An offshoot of Appendix:English terms of Native American origin, this list includes common nouns which originated from Eskimo or Aleut languages. See here for a list of place names, personal names and tribe names derived from these languages. (If a common noun is also the name of a tribe, place or person (e.g. "malamute"), this is noted in this list only in the etymology.)

from Aleut languages[edit]

iqyax — "kayak constructed by covering a light wooden frame lashed together with sinew in sea lion hides, bidarka" — Unangan Aleut iqyax (“kayak”)
parka — "long jacket with a hood, which protects the wearer against rain and wind" — via Aleut, from Russian па́рка (párka)

kabloona — "(in Canada or Greenland) non-Inuit person (especially if European)" — said to be combination of Eastern Canadian Inuktitut qallunaaq (“foreigner”) and Greenlandic kablunâk (an older spelling of kallunaaq), if not a straightforward derivation of one or the other
muktuk — "whale skin and blubber (as used as a food by the Inuit)" — Western Canadian Inuktitut [script needed] (maqtaq) or Inupiaq maktak (“whaleskin with attached blubber”)
pingo — "hydrolaccolith, mound of earth-covered ice" — Greenlandic or Inuktitut pingu (“small hill”)
tupilaq (also: tupilak, tupilat) — "monster (either invisible or having a physical form constructed from animal bones, sinew, etc) created in secret by a shaman and sent into the sea to seek and kill a specific enemy", "(small) representation of such a monster, often carved from whale bone" — from Greenlandic or Inuktitut (cognates exist in both languages} ᑐᐱᓚᒃ (topilak)

angakok (also: angekok, angekkok, angekut) — "Inuit shaman" — Greenlandic angakok (“shaman”) (synonymous with and cognate to "angatkuq", "angakkuq")
anorak — "heavy weatherproof jacket with an attached hood" (in the UK also: "nerd") — Greenlandic annoraaq
nunatak — "mountain (or mountain-top or ridge) surrounded by but not covered by ice: peak protruding from the surface of an ice sheet" — Greenlandic nunataq

chimo — "hello, goodbye" (a salutation, now generally used ironically) — Inuktitut ᓴᐃᒧ (saimo, “goodbye; peace be with you”)
igloo — "durable dome-shaped shelter constructed of blocks cut from hard snow" — Inuktitut ᐃᒡᓗ (iclo) (contrast "quinzhee")
inuksuk (also: inukshuk) — "structure of piled stones, designed to resemble a humanoid figure" — Inuktitut ᐃᓄᒃᓱᒃ (inoksok, “in the likeness of a human”)
kamik — "mukluk, soft knee-high boot" — Inuktitut ᑲᒥᒃ (kamik, “boot, shoe, footwear”)
ookpik — "handicraft toy stuffed owl, often made from wolf fur, sealskin or similar materials" — Inuktitut ᐅᒃᐱᒃ (okpik, “snowy owl”)
Tiktaalik (sometimes: tiktaalik) — "taxonomic genus within the subclass Tetrapodomorpha", "member of this genus: an extinct fish which evolved to walk on land" — Inuktitut tiktaalik (“shallow-water fish”)
ulu — "woman's knife" — Inuktitut ᐅᓗ (olo, “woman's knife”)

angakkuq — "Inuit shaman" (male or female intellectual and spiritual mediator) — Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ (angatkoq, “shaman”) (synonymous with and cognate to "angatkuq", "angakok")
komatik (also: qamutiq) — "rawhide-lashed sled/sleigh with wooden crossbars and runners" — Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᖃᒧᑎᒃ (qamotik)
qiviut (also: qiviuq) — "underwool of the Arctic musk ox, used as fibre" — Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᕿᕕᐅᖅ (qifioq, “underwool”)
qulliq (also: kudlik) — "particular soapstone lamp (produced and used by the Inuit)" — Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᖁᓪᓕᖅ (qolliq)

angatkuq — "Inuit shaman" — Western Canadian Inuktitut angatkuq (synonymous with and cognate to "angakkuq", "angakok")
kayak (also: kiak) — "small boat powered by the occupant(s) using a double-bladed paddle in a sitting position" (as a verb: "to travel in such a boat") — Western Canadian Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “man's boat; kayak; canoe”)
umiak — "large, open boat made of skins stretched over a wooden frame, propelled by paddles" — Western Canadian Inuktitut ᐅᒥᐊᖅ (omiaq, “women's boat; sealskin boat; boat”)

malamute — "particular breed of husky dog" — from the name "Malamute" (from Inupiaq malimiut) applied to an Inupiak people who live in western Alaska and who bred these dogs
masu — "Hedysarum alpinum, which has an edible root" — Inupiaq ᒪᓱ (masu, “edible root”)
tupik — "tent-like type of Native American dwelling made from animal skins, used by the Inuit in the summer" — Inupiaq ᑐᐱᒃ (tupik)
qargi — "traditional, large, semisubterranean men's communal house, in which communal and ceremonial events are hosted, kashim" — Inupiaq qargi (synonymous with "qasgiq")

kuspuk — "lightweight dress-like parka worn by (Eskimo) women", "overshirt worn by (Eskimo) men and women" — from a Yupik language term qaspeq
qasgiq — "traditional, large, semisubterranean men's communal house, in which communal and ceremonial events are hosted, kashim" — from a Yupik language term qasgiq (synonymous with "qargi")

mukluk (also: maklak) — "soft knee-high boot of sealskin or reindeer skin" — Central Siberian Yupik maklak (“bearded seal”)
maklak — (variant of "mukluk")