eskimo
UK[ˈes.kɪ.məʊ]US[ˈes.kɪ.moʊ]
n
A member of a group of peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of North America, Greenland, and eastern Siberia.
n
(offensive) The languages spoken by these peoples, forming a family that includes Inuit and Yupik.
Etymology
The term "Eskimo" entered English via French "Esquimaux," which itself was borrowed from a word in the Algonquian languages (likely Montagnais or Cree) meaning "eaters of raw meat." This was a name applied by neighboring peoples, not a self-designation. The word has no further traceable roots to Proto-Indo-European, Latin, or Greek, as it originates from the indigenous languages of North America. Due to its external origin and the perception of it being pejorative, the term is now often considered offensive, with "Inuit" and specific group names being preferred in Canada and Greenland, though "Eskimo" is still used in a linguistic and broader anthropological context in Alaska and Siberia.
Analysis
The word is a loanword adopted as a single, unanalyzable unit in English. It does not contain separable morphemes within the modern English spelling.
Examples
The museum exhibit featured traditional tools used by the Eskimo peoples of Alaska.
Linguists study the Eskimo-Aleut language family, which includes Yupik and Inuit dialects.
The use of the term "Eskimo" is increasingly avoided in favor of more specific and respectful ethnonyms.