An Eskimo is a member of the group of peoples who live in Alaska, Northern Canada, eastern Siberia, and other parts of the Arctic. These peoples now usually call themselves Inuits or Yupiks, and the term Eskimo could cause offence.
Eskimo in British English
(ˈɛskɪˌməʊ) often offensive
noun
1. Word forms: plural-mos or -mo
a member of a group of peoples inhabiting N Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and E Siberia, having a material culture adapted to an extremely cold climate
2.
the language of these peoples
3.
a family of languages that includes Eskimo and Aleut
adjective
4.
relating to, denoting, or characteristic of the Eskimos
Former spelling: Esquimau▶ USAGE Eskimo is considered by many to be offensive, and in North America the term Inuit is usually preferred. Inuit, however, can be accurately applied only to those Aboriginal peoples inhabiting partsof Northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland (as distinguished from those in Asia orthe Aleutian Islands). See also Inuit, Inuktitut
Word origin
C18 from Algonquian Esquimawes
Eskimo in American English
(ˈeskəˌmou)
nounWord forms: plural(for 1)-mos or esp collectively -mo
1. sometimes offensive
a member of an indigenous people of Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska, and northeastern Siberia, characterized by short, stocky build and light-brown complexion
2.
either of two related languages spoken by these people, one in Greenland, Canada, and northern Alaska, the other in southern Alaska and Siberia
The name inuit, by which the native people of the Arctic from northern Alaska to western Greenlandcall themselves, has largely supplanted eskimo in Canada and is used officially by the Canadian government. Many Inuit considereskimo offensive, in part because the word was, erroneously, long thought to mean literally“eater of raw meat.” inuit has also come to be used in a wider sense, to name all people formerly called eskimo, regardless of local self-designations. However, eskimo is still encountered, especially in reference to the people as a linguistic unity. Compare Inuit, Yupik
Derived forms
Eskimoan
adjective
Eskimoid (ˈeskəˌmɔid)
adjective
Word origin
[1575–85; ‹ earlier Esqimawe(s), appar. via F (of 16th-century Basque fishermen) ‹ Sp esquimao(s) ‹ Montagnais (F sp.) aiachkimeou- a name for the Micmac, extended or transferred to the Labrador Eskimo among the easternMontagnais; perh. lit., snowshoe-netter (cf. Ojibwa aškime⋅ to net snowshoes); cf. husky]