eskimo n also esquimau, etc. DC ~ boot (1768-); O Sup² ~ curlew (1813-); DC ~ dog (Nfld: 1774-); ~ indian (1742-); ~ sled (Nfld: 1770-). See also HUSKIMAW, INDIAN.
   Attrib eskimo boot: sealskin boot reaching to the knee; SKINNY-WOPPER.
   1861 DE BOILIEU 104 The Esquimaux boots are very differently made from [mocassins] and shield the leg right over the knee; and are generally so large as to admit of the wearer having on three thick flannel socks and a good large 'boot-stocking' over these. 1877 SEARS 25 What was still worse the Esquimaux boots worn to suit the snow-shoe were as slippery as the ice itself.
   eskimo cold: influenza.
   1942 ELTON 306 Old mission diaries speak of deaths from the prevalent 'Eskimo cold,' and this is the disease which we know as Influenza... The pandemics arise annually in February and August.
   eskimo curlew: a shore-bird (Numenius borealis); CURLEW; MOUNTAIN CURLEW.
   1774 PENNANT 461 Esquimaux curlew. 1902 DELABARRE 204 ~ Barely a remnant of their former numbers. Nearly exterminated. 1951 PETERS & BURLEIGH 194 The Eskimo Curlew was formerly one of the most abundant birds in North America... Now it is extinct, or very nearly so.
   eskimo dog: strongly-built dog, native to Greenland and Labrador, used to haul sleds or 'komatiks' (Canis familiaris borealis): husky ~ LABRADOR DOG 2.
   [1772] 1792 CARTWRIGHT i, 267 [The London people were] attracted not only by the uncommon appearance of the Indians who were in their seal-skin dresses, but also by a beautiful eagle, and an Esquimau dog which had much the resemblance of a wolf. and a remarkable wildness of look. 1774 [LA TROBE] 29 The great number of Esquimaux dogs, that must seek their own maintenance, prevent the success they might have in catching fish, as these half-starved dogs, at low water, run into the nets, tear out and devour the fish, and moreover tear the nets to pieces. 1839 TUCKER 121 The Esquimaux dog does not bark. His ears are short and erect, and his bushy tail curves over his back. His average stature is one foot ten inches, and the length of his body, from the back of the head to the commencement of the tail, is two feet three inches. His coat is long and furry, and is sometimes brindled, sometimes of a dingy red, black and white, or wholly black. Some naturalists consider this race of dogs as descended from the wolf and fox. 1863 HIND [ii], 158 The Esquimaux dog of pure breed, with his strong-built frame, long white fur, pointed ears. and bushy tail, is capable of enduring hunger to a far greater extent than the mixed breed.
   eskimo duck: American common eider (Somateria mollissima dresseri).
   1918 TOWNSEND 301 [The eider] which is locally known as ... Eskimo duck ... is everywhere diminishing in numbers.
   eskimo fiddle: stringed instrument made by Inuit.
   1916 HAWKES 122 A characteristic specimen of an Eskimo 'fiddle' was obtained on this trip. It consists of a rude box, with a square hole in the top, three sinew strings with bridge and tail-piece, and a short bow with a whalebone strip for hair. It must be a rude imitation of 'fiddles' seen on whaling ships, as the drum is the only indigenous musical instrument of the Eskimo. Most Eskimo fiddles have only one string. When I asked an Eskimo musician once about this he said, 'One string is plenty for an Eskimo song.'
   eskimo indian: Inuit.
   1765 COLE 28 The French ... carry on a great Trade with the Esquameau Indians that inhabit the vast Coast of Labradore. [1766] 1971 BANKS 128 We had intelligence during this Voyage that the French Carreid on an illicit trade with the Esquimaux indians tho Probably not Countenancd by Government. 1839 TUCKER 120 One mode of travelling during winter prevails throughout the country, both amongst the white population and the Esquimaux Indians.
   eskimo sled: long wooden sledge used by Inuit for transporting people and goods in winter; KOMATIK.
   [1770] 1792 CARTWRIGHT i, 71 As the construction of an Esquimau sled differs so widely, and is, I think, so much superior to all others which have yet come to my knowledge; a particular description may not be unworthy of notice. [(1786) ibid iii, 235 The Esquimaux make use of a long sled, about twenty-one feet by fourteen inches, the sides of which are made of two-inch plank, about a foot broad; the under edges are shod with the jaw-bone of a whale, a quarter of an inch thick, fastened on with pegs made out of the teeth of the sea-cow; across the upper edges, are placed broad, thin battens to sit and stow their baggage upon. They yoke a number of stout dogs to this sled, and travel at the rate of six or seven miles an hour upon ice, or barren hills: but they cannot go into the woods, for the dogs would not only bog in the snow there, but the sled would sink too deep, and be always getting foul of the young trees.]

Go Back