bidarka

American  

[bahy-dahr-kuh] / baɪˈdɑr kə /

Sometimes bidara or baidarka

noun

1. a sealskin boat used by primarily by the Alaskan Aleuts.

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bidarka British  

/ baɪˈdɑːkiː, baɪˈdɑːkə /

noun

1. a canoe covered in animal skins, esp sealskin, used by the Inuit of Alaska

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Etymology

Origin of bidarka

First recorded in 1825–35; from Russian baĭdárka, equivalent to baĭdár(a) “kind of river craft” (apparently akin to baĭdák “river craft, barge,” Old Russian baidakŭ, bodakŭ, of obscure origin) + -ka diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bidarka

With much shouting and gesticulation, one after another bidarka joined these, the hunter in each hurriedly casting off the lashings of his harpoon which lay along deck.

From The Young Alaskans by Emerson Hough

Now, a few fathoms at a time, the native edged the bidarka up toward his game, precisely as the Aleut chief had approached the whale.

From The Young Alaskans by Emerson Hough

There be room in his bidarka for two, and he would that thou earnest with him.

From Brown Wolf and Other Jack London Stories Chosen and Edited By Franklin K. Mathiews by Jack London

When bidarka go, you take-um talk-talk paper, we give-um rifle.

From The Young Alaskans by Emerson Hough

A few yards farther he motioned for the headway to be checked, and just as the bidarka stopped he launched his barbed arrow with a savage grunt.

From The Young Alaskans by Emerson Hough