Eskimo

views updated May 11 2018

Eskimo

ETHNONYMS: Esquimox, Esquimaux

The name "Eskimo" has been applied to the native peoples of the Arctic since the sixteenth century; ironically, it is not an Eskimo word. For close to a century both anthropological and popular sources, including the Oxford English and Webster's New World dictionaries, maintained that the name "Eskimo" derived from a proto-Algonkian root translating as "eaters of the raw flesh." In fact, the name originated in the Montagnais language and had no such meaning. Eskimos refer to themselves with terms that translate as "real people" or "authentic human beings." These self-names vary from one Eskimo language to another and include the names "Inuit," "Inummaariit," "Inuvialat," "Inupiat," "Yup'ik," "Suxpiat," and "Unangan." The strength of the belief by Eskimos themselves in the pejorative connotations of their name was a major factor in its replacement, in Canada and Greenland since the 1970s, by the designation "Inuit," an ethnonym used by eastern Arctic Eskimos and Canadian Arctic Eskimos. In Alaska and Siberia, however, the term has never taken root. Although the Eskimos of the western Arctic are indeed members of the larger family of Eskimo cultures, they refer to themselves in their own language as "Yup'ik," "Inupiat," or "Unangan." To call them "Inuit" is inaccurate, and there is no all-encompassing native name for the entire native population of the Arctic.

ANN FIENUP-RIORDAN

Eskimo

views updated May 21 2018

Es·ki·mo / ˈeskəˌmō/ • n. (pl. same or -mos) 1. often offens. a member of an indigenous people inhabiting northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and eastern Siberia, traditionally living by hunting and fishing.2. either of the two main languages of this people (Inuit and Yupik), forming a major division of the Eskimo-Aleut family.• adj. of or relating to the Eskimos or their languages.ORIGIN: via French Esquimaux, possibly from Spanish esquimao, esquimal, from Montagnais ayas̆kimew ‘netter of snowshoes,’ probably applied first to the Micmac and later to the Eskimo.

Eskimo

views updated May 21 2018

Eskimo (Algonquian, eaters of raw flesh) Aboriginal inhabitants (c.60,000) of Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of North America (the Inuit), Greenland and Siberia. Sharing the common language family of Eskimo-Aleut, Eskimos have adapted to harsh climates and are proficient hunters of sea mammals. In some areas, a nomadic existence has been replaced by village settlements and work in the oil and mining industries. The eating of raw meat preserves scarce resources and provides essential nutrients. In winter, igloos (snow huts) provide temporary shelter. In summer, tents are made from animal skins. Eskimos are skilled artisans, producing kayaks and finely crafted tools from skin, ivory, bone, copper or stone. Their spiritual life is dominated by invisible forces of nature (innua). Shamanism plays an important role in everyday life.

Eskimo

views updated May 18 2018

Eskimo XVI (formerly Esquimaux). — Da. Eskimo — F. Esquimaux pl. — N. Amer. Indian word meaning ‘eaters of raw flesh’.

Eskimo

views updated Jun 11 2018

ESKIMO

ESKIMO. SeeInuit .