kayak

Meaning

Noun

A type of small boat, covered over by a surface deck, powered by the occupant or occupants using a double-bladed paddle in a sitting position, from a hole in the surface deck.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To use a kayak, to travel or race in a kayak.
2. (transitive) To traverse (a body of water) by kayak.

Synonyms

kaiak

canoe

🛶

dugout

pirogue

kyak

Translations

kayak

Kajak

kayak

caiac

kayak

kayac

caiaque

Paddelboot

canoa esquimese

Kanu

canoë

🛶

canoé

kayac

Kahn

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkaɪˌæk/

Etymology

Cognate with Kalaallisut: qajaq

Cognate with Central Yupik: qayaq

In summary

Borrowed from Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “hunter's boat”) (Inuvialuktun), from Proto-Eskimo *qayaʁ. Compare Greenlandic qajaq and Yup'ik qayaq.