What does the word 'Eskimo' mean?

bobby i

Eater of raw flesh. Sep 28 00, 3:43 AM

C.C.	I am Canadian and we were always taught that the word Eskimo was not to be used to explain the Native People of our North. We use Inuit. We were always told that Eskimo means 'raw meat eater' and is derogatory and offensive. Sep 28 00, 3:45 AM

DaveLister

Some sources still claim that it means "eaters of raw meat" or something similar, but this explanation is now largely discredited and several other sources cite some connection with snowshoes, although this is still somewhat obscure and the true meaning (if any) of the term is open to question. http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxeskimo.html As an aside, it should be noted that the people themselves generally prefer the term "Inuit". Mar 28 04, 9:33 AM

JonasGirl

'Eater of raw meat' is the best known meaning for the word Eskimo. There are many so called meanings for this word. Here are a few: People of a different land, People of dark skin, and People of different behavior. I think there are a few more. I learned about this in school a couple of weeks ago. May 23 08, 9:56 AM

queproblema

No one really knows, but scholars have discredited the idea that it means "eater of raw flesh" and now favor the snowshoe idea. Schoolchildren in the Lower 48 or on other continents may well suppose there is one indigenous people that lives in the north polar region, but there are in fact a multitude of nations. To broadly call them all "Inuit" or "Eskimo" is as misleading as calling all southerners "Texans." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_name_Eskimo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo In Alaska alone the natives, since landmark legislation in 1971, have organized themselves into twelve distinct native corporations, plus one for the diaspora. Click on the thirteenth on this list and note they refer to themselves as "Aleut, Indian, and Eskimo." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Native_Regional_Corporations#Regional_corporations May 23 08, 1:09 PM