DCHP-1 Online
Toonik [< Esk.] 
1 n. a word used by the Eskimo to indicate "a people earlier than themselves," possibly either Dorset or Thule culture Eskimos.
See also: Tunit
- 1942 No one really knows who lived on the islands when the Eskimos came, or where the women came from by which the race has persisted, but it seems probable that even two hundred years ago there may have been Tuniks still living on the islands, for these ancient people survived on Southampton Island until 1902.
2 n. a creature of Eskimo folklore (probably derived from legends about the Tunit).
- 1965 Toonik are prominent in Eskimo folklore from the western Arctic to the east. In the west they were giants but by the time the stories (or the Toonik themselves) had made it to Baffin Island, they had shrunk to the size of elves.
3 n. Trademark a sealskin doll made by Eskimos for selling as a novelty. It has red eyes, a pot belly, and long fangs. [See picture.]
- 1942 No one really knows who lived on the islands when the Eskimos came, or where the women came from by which the race has persisted, but it seems probable that even two hundred years ago there may have been Tuniks still living on the islands, for these ancient people survived on Southampton Island until 1902.
