Inuit
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English [edit]
Alternative forms [edit]
Etymology [edit]
First attested 1755–65. From Inuktitut inuit (“the people”), singular inuk (“person”), from Proto-Eskimo *inguɣ
Pronunciation [edit]
- IPA: /ˈɪnjuːɪt/, /ˈɪnʊɪt/
Noun [edit]
Inuit (plural Inuit)
- Plural form of Inuk Any of several Aboriginal peoples of coastal Arctic Canada, Alaska, and Greenland.
- (nonstandard) Individual members of the Inuit peoples.
Synonyms [edit]
- Eskimo (potentially offensive in Canada and Greenland)
- Inuk (proper singular form, uncommon)
- Inuits (somewhat improper plural, rare)
- Inupiat, Inupiaq, Iñupiaq, or Inupik (Alaska)
- Inuvialuit (Northwest Territories)
- Inuinnaq (Western Nunavut, Central Arctic Canada)
- Nunavummiut (Nunavut)
- Nunavimmiut (Nunavik, Northern Quebec)
- Labrador Inuit (Nunatsiavut, Labrador)
- Greenlander (Greenland)
- Kalaallit (southwest Greenland)
- Skraeling (historical)
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
Proper noun [edit]
Inuit
- Inuktitut, the Inuit language.
Synonyms [edit]
- Inupiatun, or Inupiak, and Qawiaraq (Alaska)
- Inuvialuktun (Northwest Territories)
- Inuinnaqtun (Western Nunavut, Central Arctic Canada)
- Inuktitut (Nunavut)
- Nunavimmiutitut (Nunavik, Northern Quebec)
- Nunatsiavummiutut, Labradorimiutut, or locally Inuttut (Nunatsiavut, Labrador)
- Greenlandic, or Kalaallisut (Greenland)
Translations [edit]
Adjective [edit]
Inuit (comparative more Inuit, superlative most Inuit)
- Of or pertaining to Inuit people, language, or culture.
Translations [edit]
Usage notes [edit]
The northern indigenous peoples of North America used to be called Eskimo, but the term has fallen out of use and is considered offensive in Canada and Greenland, because it was once thought to stem from a pejorative (see Eskimo). Inuit is the accepted term in Canada, and has gained some currency in the United States. However, Eskimo continues to be the prevalent name in Alaska for both the Inuit Inupiat people and the non-Inuit Yupik.
Also note that Inuit and Eskimo do not include the related Aleut people (Unangam), nor the Indian or First Nations peoples of the Arctic.
Many dictionaries don't consider the plural form Inuits. Inuit is usually used as an ethnonym with no singular form (like Chinese). The need to treat Inuit as a singular is obviated by wider recognition of its etymological singular form Inuk in recent times.
The Inuit language comprises a continuum of locally-intelligible dialects, with their own variations of the name for themselves and their own language. A number of these names have official status.
References [edit]
- “Inuit” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
- “Inuit” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
- “Inuit” in Wikipedia.
- “Eskimo” in Wikipedia.
- “Inuktitut” in Wikipedia.
- “Inuit language” in Wikipedia.
Inuktitut [edit]
Noun [edit]
Inuit
- Plural form of Inuk
