In·u·it also In·nu·it (ĭn'yū-ĭt)
n., pl., Inuit, or -its, also Innuit or -its.

1. A member of a group of Eskimoan peoples inhabiting the Arctic from northern Alaska eastward to eastern Greenland, particularly those of Canada.
2. 1. The family of languages spoken by the Inuit.
   2. Any of the languages spoken by the Inuit.

[Inuit, pl. of inuk, human being, Eskimo.]

USAGE NOTE   The preferred term for the native peoples of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland is now Inuit, and the use of Eskimo in referring to these peoples is often considered offensive, especially in Canada. Inuit, the plural of the Inuit word inuk, "human being," is less exact in referring to the peoples of northern Alaska, who speak dialects of the closely related Inupiaq language, and it is inappropriate when used in reference to speakers of Yupik, the Eskimoan language branch of western Alaska and the Siberian Arctic. See Usage Notes at Eskimo.

---

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

---