German NOUN B2 Rank 24416

der Eskimo

Eskimo

der Eskimo, die Eskimo

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Meanings

der Eskimo

Eskimo

An outdated collective term for a member of an Indigenous people of the Arctic regions, especially Inuit and Yupik. The term is now considered inappropriate or discriminatory by some people; the specific self-designation should be preferred.

EXAMPLE

In älteren Reiseberichten wird die Bezeichnung „Eskimo“ verwendet, obwohl die betroffenen Menschen sich selbst meist Inuit oder Yupik nennen.

Older travel accounts use the term 'Eskimo', even though the people concerned generally refer to themselves as Inuit or Yupik.

Forms

Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Eskimo, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.

At a glance (der)

gender	masculine der
plural	die Eskimo
genitive	des Eskimo

The four cases (der)

	singular	plural
nominative	der Eskimo	die Eskimo die Eskimos
accusative	den Eskimo	die Eskimo die Eskimos
dative	dem Eskimo	den Eskimo den Eskimos
genitive	des Eskimo des Eskimos	der Eskimo der Eskimos

The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.

At a glance (das)

gender	neuter das
genitive	des Eskimo

The four cases (das)

	singular	plural
nominative	das Eskimo	–
accusative	das Eskimo	–
dative	dem Eskimo	–
genitive	des Eskimo	–

The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.

Usage tips

Historical context

The word is found especially in older travel accounts, schoolbooks, and ethnographic texts. When it appears in a modern text, pay close attention to the temporal or historical context.

EXAMPLE

In einem Schulbuch aus den 1950er-Jahren ist noch ganz selbstverständlich von „Eskimos“ die Rede.

A schoolbook from the 1950s still refers quite matter-of-factly to 'Eskimos'.

Register note

In contemporary standard language, 'Eskimo' often sounds outdated or derogatory when used as a term for people. However, the word may be used deliberately in quotations and when describing historical language use.

EXAMPLE

Die Journalistin setzte das Wort „Eskimo“ in Anführungszeichen, weil sie eine historische Quelle zitierte.

The journalist put the word 'Eskimo' in quotation marks because she was quoting a historical source.

Generalization

The word groups various Indigenous peoples of the Arctic under a single term. As a result, it can obscure the cultural and linguistic differences between these groups.

EXAMPLE

Der Museumsführer erklärte, dass die Bezeichnung „Eskimo“ sehr unterschiedliche arktische Gemeinschaften zusammenfasst.

The museum guide explained that the term 'Eskimo' groups together very different Arctic communities.

In real life

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