Eskimo

Meaning

Noun

1. (dated, offensive, sometimes) A member of a group of indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic, from Siberia, through Alaska and Northern Canada, to Greenland, including the Inuit and Yupik.
2. A dog of the American Eskimo breed.
3. A dog of the Canadian Eskimo breed.
4. (Canadian, historical) A team member of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos. (Obsolete as of 2020 with the team dropping this name in favour of Elks in 2021.)

Name

Any of the languages of the Eskimo people.

Adj

1. (offensive, sometimes) Of or relating to the Eskimo peoples.
2. In, of, or relating to the Eskimo languages.

Synonyms

Inuit

Esquimau

husky

Inuktitut

Eskimo woman

Translations

esquimó

eschimese

Eskimo

esquimal

Esquimau

esquimau

esquimós

Eskimo

Eskimo

Esquimó

eskimo

Eskimos

esquimese

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɛs.kɪ.məʊ/

Etymology

Cognate with French: Esquimaux

Cognate with Innu-aimun: assime·w

Cognate with Ojibwa: ashkime

Cognate with Cree: askamiciw

In summary

Attested since 1584, from French Esquimau, ultimately from an Old Montagnais term. Ives Goddard's theory, accepted by most linguists today, is that it derives from Montagnais ayaškimew (“snowshoe-netter”). An older theory, defended by John Steckley due to its greater acceptance in Native oral traditions, but discredited by linguists, is that it derives from a term meaning "eater(s) of raw meat".
Details.
* The theory most accepted among linguists today is that it derives from ayaškimew (“snowshoe-netter”) (compare Montagnais assime·w (“she laces a snowshoe”), Ojibwe ashkime (“s/he nets snowshoes”)), a term applied to the Mi'kmaq and apparently later transferred to the Labrador Inuit.
* An older theory derives it from a term meaning "eaters of raw meat"; compare Cree askamiciw (“s/he eats it raw”) (Inuit are referred to in some Cree texts as askipiw, "eats something raw"). John Steckley argues in favor of this theory because of its greater acceptance in native oral traditions, and because the Huron, historical allies and trading partners of the Montagnais who loan-translated many names, also denote the Inuit using terms (e.g. Lorette Huron ok8ch iechronnon, Wyandot ok8chtronnon, both including -ok8ch- "to be raw") meaning "people of the raw", "people who eat something raw".
In 1978, Montagnais-speaking Quebec anthropologist Jose Mailhot alternatively suggested Eskimo meant "people who speak a different language", but Steckley considers her theory unlikely.
The term may have entered English via Spanish esquimao, esquimal (used by Basque fishermen in Labrador).