English

Alternative forms

• Innuit

Noun

Inuit ‎(plural Inuit)

1. Any of several Aboriginal peoples of coastal Arctic Canada, Alaska, and Greenland.
2. (nonstandard) Individual members of the Inuit peoples.

Synonyms

• Eskimo (potentially offensive in Alaska, Canada, Greenland)
• Inuk (proper singular form, uncommon)
• Inuits (somewhat improper plural, rare)
• Inupiat, Inupiaq, Iñupiaq, or Inupik (Alaska)
• Inuvialuit (Northwest Territories)
• Inuinnaq (Western Nunavut, Central Arctic Canada)
• Nunavummiut (Nunavut)
• Nunavimmiut (Nunavik, Northern Quebec)
• Labrador Inuit (Nunatsiavut, Labrador)
• Greenlander (Greenland)
• Kalaallit (southwest Greenland)
• Skraeling (historical)

Derived terms

• Canadian Inuit dog, Inuit dog

Related terms

• Inukshuk

Translations

Etymology 2

Proper noun

Inuit

1. Inuktitut, the Inuit language.

Synonyms

• Inupiatun, or Inupiak, and Qawiaraq (Alaska)
• Inuvialuktun (Northwest Territories)
• Inuinnaqtun (Western Nunavut, Central Arctic Canada)
• Inuktitut (Nunavut)
• Nunavimmiutitut (Nunavik, Northern Quebec)
• Nunatsiavummiutut, Labradorimiutut, or locally Inuttut (Nunatsiavut, Labrador)
• Greenlandic, or Kalaallisut (Greenland)

Translations

Etymology 3

Adjective

Inuit ‎(comparative more Inuit, superlative most Inuit)

1. Of or pertaining to Inuit people, language, or culture.

Translations

Usage notes

The northern indigenous peoples of North America used to be called Eskimo, but the term has declined in usage in North America because it was erroneously thought to derive from a pejorative; see the usage notes at Eskimo. Inuit is the accepted term in Canada, and has gained some currency in the United States. However, Eskimo continues to be the prevalent name in Alaska, and worldwide, for both the Inuit Inupiat people and the non-Inuit Yupik.

Also note that the terms Inuit and Eskimo do not include the related Aleut people (Unangam), nor the other Native (First Nations) peoples of the Arctic.

Many dictionaries do not list Inuits as a plural form. Inuit is usually used as an ethnonym with no singular form (like Chinese). The need to treat Inuit as a singular has been obviated by wider recognition of its etymological singular form Inuk in recent times.

Etymology 4

Inuit

1. plural of Inuk

References

• “Inuit” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
• “Inuit” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• Inuit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Eskimo on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Inuktitut on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Inuit language on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Inuktitut

Noun

Inuit

1. plural of Inuk

Danish

Noun

inuit c (singular definite inuitten, plural indefinite inuitter)

1. inuit

Inflection

Synonyms

• eskimo c

Derived terms

• inuitisk

Greenlandic

Noun

inuit

1. plural of inuk

Related terms

• inuiaat

Inuktitut

Noun

inuit

1. plural of inuk

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈnujt/

Adjective

inuit m, f ‎(plural inuit)

1. Inuit

Noun

inuit m, f ‎(plural inuites)

1. Inuit
2. (uncountable) Inuktitut