Inuvialuit
/ɪˈnuːviəlʊɪt/noun
The Indigenous Inuit people of the western Canadian Arctic, especially the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
Did you know?Inuvialuit is the plural form of Inuvialuk, and the name was chosen as a self-designation by western Arctic Inuit communities rather than imposed by outsiders.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Eskimo-Aleut
PEA
*ənuq
“Reconstructed root meaning “person” or “human being.””
Proto-Inuit
Proto-Inuit
*inuk
“Person or human being.”
Historical Inuit languages
Inuit
inuk / inuit
““Person” in the singular and “people” in the plural; the source of the ethnonym Inuit.”
Inuvialuktun
Inuvialuktun
inuvialuk
“A “real person” or “genuine human being,” formed with inuk and a qualifier meaning “real” or “genuine.””
Modern Inuvialuktun
Inuvialuktun
inuvialuit
“Plural form meaning “real people” or “real human beings.””
Modern English
English
Inuvialuit
“The self-designation of Inuit peoples of the western Canadian Arctic.”