Enets
/ˈɛn.ɛts/noun
A member of a small Samoyedic people of northern Siberia, or the language spoken by them.
Did you know?The Enets language is one of the most endangered languages in the world, with only a small number of fluent speakers remaining.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Uralic / Proto-Samoyedic period
Uralic
*ńeŋe / related forms
“A reconstructed word-family associated with a person or human being; the precise relationship to Enets is debated.”
Traditional native usage
Enets
енча (enča)
“A native self-designation commonly interpreted as “person” or “human.””
19th Century
Russian
энец (enets)
“Russian ethnographic rendering of the people’s name.”
20th Century
English
Enets
“An English ethnonym for the Indigenous Samoyedic people of the Taymyr Peninsula.”
Modern English
English
Enets
“The people, their language, or something belonging to them.”