Eskimo
/ˈɛs.kɪ.məʊ/
"eskimo" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Eskimo” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,912 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #28,912
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A member of a group of indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic, from Siberia, through Alaska and Northern Canada, to Greenland, including the Inuit and Yupik.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Eskimo |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛs.kɪ.məʊ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #28,912 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Eskimo” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Eskimo is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛs.kɪ.məʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,912 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Eskimo, with forms such as "eksimo", "esikmo", and "eskimmo". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since 1584, from French Esquimau, ultimately from an Old Montagnais term. Ives Goddard's theory, accepted by most linguists today, is that it derives from Montagnais ayaškimew (“snowshoe-netter”). An older theory, defended by John Steckley due to i… The correct English form is Eskimo, spelled E-S-K-I-M-O.
Definition
- 1A member of a group of indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic, from Siberia, through Alaska and Northern Canada, to Greenland, including the Inuit and Yupik.
- 2A dog of the American Eskimo breed.
- 3A dog of the Canadian Eskimo breed.
- 4A team member of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos. (Obsolete as of 2020 with the team dropping this name in favour of Elks in 2021.)
Etymology
Attested since 1584, from French Esquimau, ultimately from an Old Montagnais term. Ives Goddard's theory, accepted by most linguists today, is that it derives from Montagnais ayaškimew (“snowshoe-netter”). An older theory, defended by John Steckley due to its greater acceptance in Native oral traditions, but discredited by linguists, is that it derives from a term meaning "eater(s) of raw meat". Details. * The theory most accepted among linguists today is that it derives from ayaškimew (“snowshoe-netter”) (compare Montagnais assime·w (“she laces a snowshoe”), Ojibwe ashkime (“s/he nets snowshoes”)), a term applied to the Mi'kmaq and apparently later transferred to the Labrador Inuit. * An older theory derives it from a term meaning "eaters of raw meat"; compare Cree askamiciw (“s/he eats it raw”) (Inuit are referred to in some Cree texts as askipiw, "eats something raw"). John Steckley argues in favor of this theory because of its greater acceptance in native oral traditions, and because the Huron, historical allies and trading partners of the Montagnais who loan-translated many names, also denote the Inuit using terms (e.g. Lorette Huron ok8ch iechronnon, Wyandot ok8chtronnon, both including -ok8ch- "to be raw") meaning "people of the raw", "people who eat something raw". In 1978, Montagnais-speaking Quebec anthropologist Jose Mailhot alternatively suggested Eskimo meant "people who speak a different language", but Steckley considers her theory unlikely. The term may have entered English via Spanish esquimao, esquimal (used by Basque fishermen in Labrador).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eksimo,esikmo,eskimmo,eskiom,eskkimo,eskmio,esskimo,sekimo
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Eskimo - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Eskimo"?
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Using “Eskimo”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-S-K-I-M-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛs.kɪ.məʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.