eskimo Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a member of a people inhabiting the Arctic (northern Canada or Greenland or Alaska or eastern Siberia); the Algonquians called them Eskimo (`eaters of raw flesh') but they call themselves the Inuit (`the people')
    Inuit; Esquimau.
  2. noun the language spoken by the Eskimo
    Esquimau.

WordNet

Es"ki*mo noun
Etymology
Originally applied by the Algonquins to the Northern Indians, and meaning eaters of raw flesh.
Wordforms
plural Eskimos
Definitions
  1. (Ethnol.) One of a peculiar race inhabiting Arctic America and Greenland. In many respects the Eskimos resemble the Mongolian race. Written also Esquimau.

Webster 1913