igloo
UK[ˈɪɡluː]US[ˈɪɡluː]
n
A dome-shaped house or shelter built from blocks of hard snow, traditionally by the Inuit.
Etymology
The word 'igloo' entered English in the mid-19th century from Canadian French, which borrowed it from the Inuit language Inuktitut. In its source language, 'iglu' is a general term for any kind of house or dwelling, not exclusively one made of snow. English explorers and writers adopted the term but semantically narrowed it to refer specifically to the iconic snow-block domes used as winter shelters. This borrowing represents a classic example of a loanword where the original, broader meaning becomes specialized in the adopting language to denote a culturally distinctive object.
Analysis
The word 'igloo' is a simplex loanword from Inuktitut (ᐃᒡᓗ, 'iglu'), meaning 'house'. It functions as a single, unanalyzable morpheme in English.
Examples
The children built a small igloo in the backyard after the heavy snowfall.
Traditional Inuit hunters would construct a temporary igloo for shelter on the ice.
The survival guide explained how to ventilate an igloo properly to prevent carbon monoxide buildup.