large Eskimo boat, c. 1743, from Eskimo umiaq "an open skin boat." Said by 18c.-19c. sources to be a "woman's boat," as opposed to the kayak, which was worked exclusively by men.
Entries linking to umiak
kayak n.
type of Eskimo light boat, originally made from seal-skins stretched over a wooden frame, 1757, kajak, from Danish kajak, from Greenland Eskimo qayaq, literally "small boat of skins." The verb is attested from 1875, from the noun. Related: Kayaking; kayaker (1856).