Quick links
kayak (1)
< Inuit
DCHP-3 (May 2025)
Spelling variants:kyack, kyak, kiack, Eskimo kayak, kajak, kajac
Note that qajaq is the decolonized form today. See the corresponding cross-reference below.
1n. — Indigenous, originally North, Territories
a light sealskin boat completely decked except for a cockpit (see Image 1).
Type: 1. Origin — While kayak is the most frequent spelling in Canadian English and in Englishes globally, the decolonized form is today qajaq (see entry). A range of spelling variants exist, some of which are displayed in the quotations paragraph below. Kajak and kyack are the oldest documented spellings (see the 1738 and 1770 quotations), though knowledge of these boats predates the written attestation by one and a half centuries (see the 1576 quotation).
See: qajaq
Quotations
1576
[Their boates are made all of Seales skinnes, with a keele of wood within the skin: the proportion of them is like a Spanish shallop, saue only they be flat in the bottome, and sharpe at both ends.]
1738
The grand subject of their conversation, is their adventures in seal-catching. The left-hand personates the seal, and represents the various leaps the animal took this way or that: the right displays the motions and evolutions of their kajak and their arm; how they extended their uplifted arm; how steadily they aimed, and how forcibly they impelled the fatal dart.
1770
[[5 Oct. 1770] At nine o'clock, Attuiock, Tooklavinia, his brother, a youth of seventeen years of age; and Etuiock, the nephew, a youth of fifteen; came up here in their kyacks, and breakfasted with me; after which they went back, in order to bring up the women and children.]
1826
Conrad turned his sledge into a kind of raft by tying skins and seals' bladders to it, and contrived to paddle to the firm ice, using a seal javlin as a rudder. It was agreed that he should procure a kayak or boat to come to their assistance;
1849
Sometimes a hundred men, among whom is a sprinkling of Indians, are engaged in taking the "kiacks" from the stream.
1877
The kayak (qajaq) is almost exclusively used for hunting by all Eskimo tribes from Greenland to Alaska.
1897
The Eskimos use . . . its bones for kayak frames and other purposes.
1916
A kayaker's suit, consisting of a gutskin coat and trousers, was obtained at Wolstenholme.
1936
It [Imperial Oil] helps to provide fuel for the modern Eskimo kayak in the Arctic as well as the tractor on the Prairies.
1942
The natural genius of Eskimo workmanship is exploited fully in the building of a kyak, those light, buoyant seaworthy craft, which are truly capable of crossing the Atlantic . . . The capable hands of the Eskimo measure the boat for beam and draft with outspread fingers, crosspieces are fitted and securely lashed with rawhide to the main skeletal framework, which is covered with sealskins in a wet state. When dry, the skins have a drum-like tension, supply rigidity to the framework, and are waterproofed at the seams with seal blood.
1960
Do you know that when Eskimos go on a hunt they take lactating women with them? Think of it, so much nimbler than a cow or a goat, can be packed in a kayak; have teats will travel.
1965
A considerable amount of evidence of transitory historic occupation was found in the area: tent rings, a variety of fox traps and meat caches, markers and kayak rests.
1983
He has discovered that the Inuit from the Aleutian Islands to Greenland varied their kayaks about as much as their dialects. He is mastering the kayaks and making an effort to speak Inuit.
1988
Although a tape of Inuit throat-singing certainly fits in with the Inuit parkas, masks, knives, and model kayaks, it's played so loudly that it ends up distracting attention.
2005
When powerboats began to allow Inuit hunters and fishers to catch more game and travel farther with greater speed, kayaks were mostly abandoned -- until the early 1980s, when a movement began to preserve the traditional kayak. Interviews with elders resulted in a kayak-building manual that preserved the traditional construction methods and produced a new generation of kayakers, who in 1983 formed the Nuuk Qajaq Club.
2n. — Sports, Outdoors
any boat fashioned after the Inuit boat (see def. 1).
Type: 1. Origin — Inspired by the Inuit boat, kayaks have been produced from other materials, such as wood, fibreglass, metal or synthetic materials, for many decades. An Olympic discipline since 1936 and a popular outdoor sport, kayaks have entered the general lexicon in Englishes globally as well as in other languages.
See: qajaq
Quotations
1930
In the intermediate single-blade fours, fast thinking won the race for Parkdale Canoe Club. When the crews were called to the line the wind was blowing very hard and the water was decidedly choppy. Parkdale equipped their boat with a slip-over of oilcloth, in which holes had been cut for the legs of the paddlers, in Eskimo kayak style.
1958
Two daring experts of the Kayak [sic] . . . are practising the handling of this light craft in preparation for a proposed trip to South America.
1959
. . . in the case of kayaks, there is a good chance they will capsize. When this happens, the kayak contestant must execute the "Eskimo roll," which is a means of righting himself with his paddles. . . .
1964
They will be followed by several power boat races, kayak races, water skiing demonstrations by the Wizard Water Ski Club and a host of other aquatic events.
1971
White water canoeing, the exciting sport of "shooting the rapids", is fast gaining popularity in Alberta thanks to the efforts of the North West Voyageur Canoe and Kayak Club.
1998
While coreopsis, gumweed, bird-watching, and sea kayaking are favourite draws for island visitors, it is Melanie who leaves the most indelible impression on them.
2016
16'6" cedar strip kayak
A true pleasure to paddle, this cedar strip kayak, Resolute model, combines great tracking and stability with an eye-catching design. It features foot braces, walnut sheer guards, a deck constructed of cedar, douglas fir, and walnut accents. Deck rigging will be added in the coming weeks.
Images
