*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of kayak

Borrowed from Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “hunter's boat”) (Inuvialuktun), from Proto-Eskimo *qayaʁ. Compare Greenlandic qajaq and Yup'ik qayaq.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A type of small boat, covered over by a surface deck, powered by the occupant or occupants using a double-bladed paddle in a sitting position, from a hole in the surface deck.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “hunter's boat”) (Inuvialuktun), from Proto-Eskimo *qayaʁ. Compare Greenlandic qajaq and Yup'ik qayaq.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "iu:ᖃᔭᖅ",
        "id": "boat"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "iu",
        "3": "ᖃᔭᖅ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "hunter's boat",
        "sc": "Cans"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “hunter's boat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "esx-esk-pro",
        "3": "*qayaʁ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Eskimo *qayaʁ"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "kl",
        "2": "qajaq"
      },
      "expansion": "Greenlandic qajaq"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "esu",
        "2": "qayaq"
      },
      "expansion": "Yup'ik qayaq"
    },
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      "name": "etymon",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
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    }
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    ],
    [
      "qajaq",
      "qajaq#Greenlandic"
    ],
    [
      "qayaq",
      "qayaq#Yup'ik"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Cebuano",
      "lang_code": "ceb",
      "word": "kayak",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "カヤック",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "kayakku"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Khmer",
      "lang_code": "km",
      "word": "កាយ៉ាក់",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "kaayak"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Korean",
      "lang_code": "ko",
      "word": "카약",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "kayak"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "caiaque",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A type of small boat, covered over by a surface deck, powered by the occupant or occupants using a double-bladed paddle in a sitting position, from a hole in the surface deck."
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Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To use a kayak, to travel or race in a kayak. · To traverse (a body of water) by kayak.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “hunter's boat”) (Inuvialuktun), from Proto-Eskimo *qayaʁ. Compare Greenlandic qajaq and Yup'ik qayaq.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "iu:ᖃᔭᖅ",
        "id": "boat"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Eskimo\", \"term\" : \"*qayaʀ\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"esx-esk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Inuit\", \"term\" : \"*qayaq\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"esx-inu-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Inuktitut\", \"term\" : \"ᖃᔭᖅ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"iu\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"kayak\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"boat\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"kayak\" id=\"English:_boat\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "iu",
        "3": "ᖃᔭᖅ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "hunter's boat",
        "sc": "Cans"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (qayaq, “hunter's boat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "esx-esk-pro",
        "3": "*qayaʁ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Eskimo *qayaʁ"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "kl",
        "2": "qajaq"
      },
      "expansion": "Greenlandic qajaq"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "esu",
        "2": "qayaq"
      },
      "expansion": "Yup'ik qayaq"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "iu:ᖃᔭᖅ",
        "id": "boat"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
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    ],
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    ],
    [
      "qajaq",
      "qajaq#Greenlandic"
    ],
    [
      "qayaq",
      "qayaq#Yup'ik"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To use a kayak, to travel or race in a kayak.",
        "To traverse (a body of water) by kayak."
      ],
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        "intransitive",
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for kayak →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-a2F5YWs