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mukluk (MuHK-luhk) - n., a soft-soled knee-high boot made of sealskin or reindeer/caribou skin worn by Inuit, Inupiat, and Yupik peoples; a laced winter boot resembling a traditional mukluk, with thick rubber sole and cloth upper; a tall, fur-lined slipper resembling a traditional mukluk.
Two traditional mukluk made from sealskin, winterwear with the fur on the left, summerwear without on the right:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
In winter, they are part of a complex, three-part system for keeping feet warm and dry. We got the word in 1865 from the Yupik name for them, maklak -- Iniut, especially eastern Iniut and Greenlanders, tend to call them kamik. Maklak literally means bearded seal, from which you might correctly guess that Yupik often used bearded-seal skins to make theirs.
---L.
Two traditional mukluk made from sealskin, winterwear with the fur on the left, summerwear without on the right:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
In winter, they are part of a complex, three-part system for keeping feet warm and dry. We got the word in 1865 from the Yupik name for them, maklak -- Iniut, especially eastern Iniut and Greenlanders, tend to call them kamik. Maklak literally means bearded seal, from which you might correctly guess that Yupik often used bearded-seal skins to make theirs.
---L.
