umiak

American  

[oo-mee-ak] / ˈu miˌæk /

Or oomiak

noun

1. an Inuit or Yupik open boat that consists of a wooden frame covered with skins and provided with several thwarts: used for transport of goods and passengers.

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umiak British  

/ ˈuːmɪˌæk /

noun

1. a large open boat made of stretched skins, used by Inuit Compare kayak

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Etymology

Origin of umiak

First recorded in 1760–70, umiak is from the Inuit word umiaq “women's boat”

Example Sentences

His chronicle of a voyage in an umiak, an open skin-covered Eskimo craft, from Nome to a fragment of rock called King Island, is a masterpiece of terse narrative and clinical observation.

From Time Magazine Archive

Both bodies were wrapped in blankets, placed in a native umiak to be towed to Point Barrow.

From Time Magazine Archive

And then next morning very early, he set out and rowed northward in his umiak.

From Eskimo Folk-Tales by Worster, W. J. Alexander (William John Alexander)

A large umiak appeared from the ice of the strait, and in its bow stood a chief, who called Stirling's name.

From The Ice Pilot by Leverage, Henry

An Eskimo thinks it an indignity to row in an umiak, the large boat used by women.

From Sex and Society by Thomas, William I.