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

In reply to this the Aleut stooped down, went out of the door, and walked over to the bidarka, where it lay at the bank.

From The Young Alaskans by Hough, Emerson

To begin with, the frost that creates the ice clears the air of fog, and the steel-shod pole either sheers the bidarka off from the ice, or the ice off from the bidarka.

From Vikings of the Pacific The Adventures of the Explorers who Came from the West, Eastward by Laut, Agnes C. (Agnes Christina)

Once or twice he gently turned the prow of the bidarka, using the least possible motion.

From The Young Alaskans by Hough, Emerson

He pointed to the bidarka at the edge of the lagoon.

From The Young Alaskans by Hough, Emerson

Except when wide yawns took it off its course, a bidarka was heading in for the beach.

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