English

A group of Inuits in an umiak in the 1920s.

Alternative forms

• umiac, umiaq, oomiac, oomiak

Noun

umiak ‎(plural umiaks or umiat)

1. (nautical) A large, open boat made of skins stretched over a wooden frame that is propelled by paddles; used by the Eskimos for transportation.
   • 2002, Louis-Jacques Dorais, 'Inuit', Aboriginal Peoples of Canada, ed. Paul Robert Magocsi, University of Toronto, page 135:

     In many regions, people went inland at the end of August (often travelling upriver in large sealskin boats called umiat) to hunt caribou till September or October.

Translations

See also

• kayak