umiak

or oo·mi·ak

[ oo-mee-ak ]

/ ˈu miˌæk /

noun

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

Nearby words

ume, umeboshi, umeå, umf, umfazi, umiak, umist, uml, umlaut, umlungu, ummah

Origin of umiak

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for umiak

The umiak dashed off, but it seemed as if it were standing still, so swiftly did the whale overhaul it.
Eskimo Folktales|Unknown
When Kovik appeared in his umiak with his squat wife and family, there was a general handshaking.
The Whelps of the Wolf|George Marsh
And then next morning very early, he set out and rowed northward in his umiak.
Eskimo Folktales|Unknown
And at the same moment the sea was lashed into foam, but the umiak had reached the land.
Eskimo Folktales|Unknown

One of them is the great woman's boat called the umiak, from twelve to eighteen yards in length, and four or five in width.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II|Francis Augustus Cox

British Dictionary definitions for umiak

umiak

oomiak

/ (ˈuːmɪˌæk) /

noun

a large open boat made of stretched skins, used by InuitCompare kayak

Word Origin for umiak

C18: from Greenland Inuktitut: boat for the use of women

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012