Umiak

Alternative forms

• umiac, umiaq, oomiac, oomiak

Origin

From Inuktitut (Western Canadian Inuktitut) (umiaq, "women's boat").

Full definition of umiak

Noun

1. (nautical) A large, open boat made of skins stretched over a wooden frame that is propelled by paddles; used by the Inuit for transportation.
• 2002, Louis-Jacques Dorais, 'Inuit', Aboriginal Peoples of Canada, ed. Paul Robert Magocsi, University of Toronto, page 135:In many regions, people went inland at the end of August (often travelling upriver in large sealskin boats called umiat) to hunt caribou till September or October.