DCHP-2

panak DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — Territories, especially Nunavut & Quebec

  a long broad knife used to make igloos (see Image 1).

  Type: 1. Origin — Panak is a borrowing from Inuktitut, a language used by many Inuit. It is used primarily in the North, though Chart 1 does not show this regional spread in the written record on the internet. Here, Quebec stands out, but it must be considered as secondary in use in the spoken language to Nunavut, followed by the Northwest Territories and the Yukon by a great margin. In addition, the term is centuries older than the first written quotation we could muster. Prior to 1990, the form appears to be preserved in writing only in the form of a family last name, Panak, which illustrates the relative neglect of mainstream Canadian culture in regards to Inuit terms and traditions.
  See also ITP Nelson, s.v. "panak", which is marked "Northern Canada".

  See also: igloo (meaning 1a)