caribou

Where does the word "caribou" come from? It comes from Mi'kmaq qalipu, passing through Canadian French before entering English (1660s).

Caribou’s story begins in Mi'kmaq: qalipu meant “a snow-digging animal.” Possibly meaning 'snow shoveler', describing how the animal digs through snow. By 1600s, the word had taken hold in Canadian French as caribou. Mi'kmaq 'qalipu', snow-shoveller, for how the animal paws through snow to feed. It reached English by 1660s as caribou. Appeared as early as 1609 in Pierre Erondelle's English translation of Marc Lescarbot's account of New France; used in North America, while the same animal in Eurasia is called reindeer. Today, caribou means a North American reindeer, found in Arctic and subarctic regions.

1. Stage 1 · Mi'kmaq · pre-1600s qalipu "a snow-digging animal", possibly meaning 'snow shoveler', describing how the animal digs through snow.
2. Stage 2 · Canadian French · 1600s caribou "a North American reindeer", Mi'kmaq 'qalipu', snow-shoveller, for how the animal paws through snow to feed.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1660s caribou "a North American reindeer", appeared as early as 1609 in Pierre Erondelle's English translation of Marc Lescarbot's account of New France; used in North America, while the same animal in Eurasia is called reindeer.