Eskimo
/ˈɛs.kɪ.məʊ/
"eskimo" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Eskimo” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,912. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #28,912
- frequency rank, English
- 2,246
- “E” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 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.
Corpus desk
Index EN-eskimo · Eskimo · English
Eskimo · rank #28,912 · 8 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-MID #28,912
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,246
- PHOTO-FINISH eros
Nearest frequency peer: eros (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Eskimo”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- episodic
episodic
71,092 corpus weight
- Epsom
Epsom
71,091 corpus weight
- eros
eros
71,090 corpus weight
- Eskimo
Eskimo
71,089 corpus weight
- Ewan
Ewan
71,087 corpus weight
- expiry
expiry
71,086 corpus weight
What this shows “Eskimo” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
| 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) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Eskimo”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around Eskimo (IPA /ˈɛs.kɪ.məʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,912 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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.)
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how Eskimo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Yet many pure-bred, if unregistered, Eskimos are still kept along the Canadian border for use in sled racing.
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"?
What does "Eskimo" mean?
What are common misspellings of "Eskimo"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Eskimo", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).