inukshuk

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English

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Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Inuksuk in the vicinity of Kuujjuarapik, Canada

Etymology

From Inuktitut ᐃᓄᒃᓱᒃ (inoksok, in the likeness of a human).

Pronunciation

Noun

inukshuk (plural inukshuks or inukshuit or inuksuit)

  1. A structure of piled stones, used as a landmark and traditionally constructed by the Inuit, often resembling a humanoid figure.
    • 2004, Pamela R Stern, Historical Dictionary of the Inuit, page 74:
      The Nunavut Territory flag bears a rendering of an inukshuk in the form of a crucifix.
    • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 140:
      This is a miniature copy of an inukshuk that actually stands up on a ridgeline far away in the interior, rocks piled in roughly the shape of a human, not to threaten the stranger but to guide him in country where landmarks are either too few or too many to keep straight.
    • 6 March 2008, Inuit Inuksuit to be crafted and sold for 2010 Games. , The Globe and Mail:

References

  • “inukshuk” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.