kayak
/ˈkʌɪak
/
- These sculptural works are made of superimposed bentwood floatable frames: canoes, surfboards, kayaks, and rowboats fully equipped with oars.
- More fatalities occurred on canoes and kayaks than on personal watercraft, but the highest number occurred on open motorboats.
- Canadian canoeing, kayaking and sailing sessions will be on offer.
- Even here, though, it is possible to try a spot of canoeing or kayaking in the Gorge Waterway - not something to be tried in the Clyde.
- Whether you're into skydiving, kayaking or mountain biking, this is the place for you.
Derivatives
kayaker
/ noun ...- Deeply affected by the tragedy, he authored legislation that calls for mandatory life jacket wear for kayakers.
- Families of ducks, sail boats and kayakers round out the serene picture.
- We didn't know it, but the kayaker had abandoned his kayak and boarded the life raft after our aerial delivery.
Origin
Mid 18th century: from Inuit qayaq.
Eskimo from late 16th century:
The traditional word for the indigenous people inhabiting northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and eastern Siberia is Eskimo. The word is from Native American language Algonquian, and may have originally meant ‘people speaking a different language’. It was formerly thought that the original meaning was ‘person who eats raw meat’ and because this was seen as insulting, the word is now avoided by many. The peoples inhabiting the regions from the Canadian Arctic to western Greenland prefer to call themselves Inuit, first recorded in English in the mid 18th century and the plural of inuk ‘person’. There are comparatively few words in English from the Inuit language. Kayak, which came into English in the 18th century, is one of them, and igloo (mid 19th century) from iglu ‘house’, is the most notable other.