An Americanism first recorded in 1665–75; from Canadian French caribou, replacing earlier English caribo, both from Mi'kmaq γalipu derivative (agent noun) of γalipi- “shovel snow,” from unattested Proto-Algonquian maka·lipi-; called the snow-shoveler from its habit of scraping aside snow with its front hoofs in search of food
How does caribou compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
A caribou is a large animal with four legs, hooves, and big antlers. In Europe and Asia, a caribou is known as a reindeer. In North America, caribou live in parts of Canada and Alaska, in both tundra and boreal forests. Many caribou migrate long distances, and all of them are herbivores, living to a great degree on a specific type of lichen. The word caribou is originally French Canadian, from the Micmac word kaleboo, "the one who paws," for the way caribou scratch the snow aside to find moss in the winter.
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“There was something sort of absurd about the name Caribou, it just made make me laugh,” said Buchheit, the 23rd employee hired at a company that now employs more than 180,000 people.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 31, 2024
The highway to Caribou in Aroostook County, Maine, near the Canadian border.Credit...
From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2024
The deluge caused a house to slide off its foundation on Caribou Lane in Beverly Glen, a mountainous neighborhood northwest of Beverly Hills.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2024
The news lifted shares of Caribou more than 61% in early trade.
From Reuters • Jul. 6, 2023
Why Jones sold his big St. Bernard and substituted a tame Caribou, which a friend brought him home from Canada.
From Mr. Punch's Golf Stories by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
