DCHP-2

igloo iglu, igloe, iglou, iggilo, igluit [< Inuktitut iglu 'dwelling, house'] DCHP-2 (November 2016)

• 1a n. & adj. — originally Aboriginal (Inuit)

  a domed structure built of blocks of hard snow (see Images 1 & 2).

  Type: 1. Origin — The term refers to one form of original housing of the Inuit peoples that has come to be stereotypically associated with them by Qalunaat people, i.e. non-Inuits. Note how the the 1771 quotation specifies the kind of house that is mentioned. In the crest of the Territory of Nunavut, the igloo symbolizes the gathered legislative assembly (see the 1999 quotation, see Image 3).
  The spelling iglu is still used today in Nunavut newspapers, but is second to igloo (in case of Nunatsiaq Online, the ratio is 476:71 for igloo vs. iglu, 18 Nov. 2016).
  See also Gage-5, which marks the term "Cdn" and ITP Nelson and COD-2, whose etymological notes identify Inuktitut as the source.

  See also: ice-house (def. 2)  kudlik  snowhouse (def. 1)  snow hut  snow igloo  panak  Qalunaat  

• 1b n. — Aboriginal (Inuit), rare

  any other Inuit house, except the tent, or tupek.

  Type: 1. Origin — This meaning of the term is virtually unknown south of 60 and has thus become rare in comparison to meaning 1a. As the 1938 and 1958 quotations show, for instance, the specialization to the snow house is a non-Inuit semantic narrowing.

  See also: tupek