Eskimo

UK: /ˈɛskɪməʊ/ US: /ˈɛskəˌmoʊ/ ,(es′kə mō′)

Inflections of 'Eskimo' (n):

Eskimos

npl (All usages)

Eskimo

npl (Can be used as a collective plural for the people—e.g. "Eskimo inhabit the circumpolar region.")

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

Es•ki•mo /ˈɛskəˌmoʊ/   n., pl. -mo, -mos for 1.

1. Language Varieties [countable] a member of a people living in regions from Greenland through Canada and Alaska to NE Siberia.
2. Language Varieties [uncountable] the group of languages spoken by the Eskimos.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Es•ki•mo  (es′kə mō′), n., pl. -mos, (esp. collectively) -mo for 1.

1. Anthropology, Language Varieties a member of an indigenous people of Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska, and northeastern Siberia, characterized by short, stocky build and light-brown complexion.
2. Language Varieties either of two related languages spoken by the Eskimos, one in Greenland, Canada, and northern Alaska, the other in southern Alaska and Siberia. Cf. Inuit, Yupik.

• Montagnais (French spelling, spelled) aiachkimeou- a name for the Micmac, extended or transferred to the Labrador Eskimo among the eastern Montagnais; perh. literally, snowshoe-netter (compare Ojibwa aŝkime· to net snowshoes); compare husky
• Spanish esquimao(s)
• earlier Esqimawe(s), apparently via French (of 16th-century Basque fishermen)
• 1575–85;

Es′ki•mo′an, adj. 
Es•ki•moid  (es′kə moid′), adj.  Usage

The name Inuit, by which the native people of the Arctic from northern Alaska to western Greenland call themselves, has largely supplanted Eskimo in Canada and is used officially by the Canadian government. Many Inuit consider Eskimo derogatory, 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 traditionally called Eskimo, regardless of local self-designations. Nonetheless, Eskimo continues in use in all parts of the world, especially in historical and archaeological contexts and in reference to the people as a cultural and linguistic unity. The term Native American is sometimes used to include Eskimo and Aleut peoples. See also Indian. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Eskimo / ˈɛskɪˌməʊ/ noun

1. ( -mos, -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

1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of the Eskimos

See also Inuit, InuktitutEtymology: 18th Century from Algonquian EsquimawesUSAGE
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 indigenous peoples inhabiting parts of Northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland (as distinguished from those in Asia or the Aleutian Islands)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Es•qui•mau  (es′kə mō′), n., pl. -maux (-mō′, -mōz′), (esp. collectively) -mau, adj. 

1. a former spelling of Eskimo. 

Es′qui•mau′an, adj.