Nunatak
/ˈnuːnəˌtæk/noun
A mountain or rocky peak that projects through an ice sheet or glacier.
Did you know?The word entered scientific English from Greenlandic, where it describes exposed land rising above surrounding ice—not a peak formed by the glacier itself.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Eskimo
Proto-Eskimo
*nuna
“Land or country”
Modern Greenlandic
Greenlandic
nuna
“Land or earth”
Modern Greenlandic
Greenlandic
nunataq
“A rocky landform projecting above an ice sheet”
19th Century
Danish
nunatak
“A mountain rising through an ice sheet; adopted in polar exploration vocabulary”
Late 19th Century
English
nunatak
“An isolated mountain or rocky peak surrounded by glacier ice”
Modern English
English
nunatak
“A mountain or rock outcrop protruding through glacial ice”