Inuit
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
First attested 1755–65. From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Inuktitut ᐃᓄᐃᑦ (inoit, “the people”), singular ᐃᓄᒃ (inok, “person”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Eskimo *inguɣ.
Pronunciation
Noun
Inuit (plural Inuits or Inuit)
Synonyms
- Eskimo (potentially offensive in Alaska, Canada, 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
Related terms
Translations
Proper noun
Inuit
- Inuktitut, the Inuit language.
Synonyms
- 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
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Adjective
Inuit (comparative more Inuit, superlative most Inuit)
- Of or pertaining to Inuit people, language, or culture.
Usage notes
The northern indigenous peoples of North America used to be called Eskimo, but the term has declined in usage in North America because it was erroneously thought to derive from a pejorative; see the usage notes at 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, and worldwide, for both the Inuit Inupiat people and the non-Inuit Yupik.
Also note that the terms Inuit and Eskimo do not include the related Aleut people (Unangam), nor the other Native (First Nations) peoples of the Arctic.
Many dictionaries do not list Inuits as a plural form. Inuit is usually used as an ethnonym with no singular form (like Chinese). The need to treat Inuit as a singular has been obviated by wider recognition of its etymological singular form Inuk in recent times.
Related terms
Translations
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Noun
Inuit
References
- “Inuit” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
- “Inuit”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- Inuit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Eskimo on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Inuktitut on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Inuit language on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
French
Etymology
From Inuktitut ᐃᓄᐃᑦ (inoit, “the people”).
Pronunciation
Noun
Inuit m (plural Inuits, feminine Inuite)
- Inuit (people)
Related terms
References
Inuktitut
Noun
Inuit
- English terms derived from Inuktitut
- English terms derived from Proto-Eskimo
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English indeclinable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English proper nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English adjectives
- English non-lemma forms
- English noun forms
- English miscellaneous irregular plurals
- en:Demonyms
- French terms derived from Inuktitut
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- Inuktitut non-lemma forms
- Inuktitut noun plural forms