DCHP-2

skidoo Skidoo, Ski-Doo < Ski-doo DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• 1 n. — Transportation, especially Nunavut

  a small over-snow vehicle equipped with skis at the front and powered by a motor driving a treaded endless track. See Images at bombardier ((2)) and motor toboggan.

  Type: 1. Origin — The term was coined in 1959 by Bombardier Ltd., as a name for one of their snowmobiles. As shown in Chart 1, skidoo is presently more common in Canada than elsewhere, though, as shown in Chart 2, snowmobile is used in Canada more frequently for the vehicle than skidoo (c. 21 points for skidoo and c. 32 for snowmobile). Regionally, skidoo is still most frequently used in Nunavut (see Chart 3), while snowmobile, the more transparent form, shows a spike on Prince Edward Island (Chart 4).
  COD-2 lists the terms "Ski-Doo" and "Ski-doo suit", but does not label them as Canadian; neither does ITP Nelson. Both Gage-1 (1967) and Gage-3 (1983) label the term as "Cdn.", however, which is in line with our interpretation. Gage-5 (1997) dropped the Canadian label and only lists "Trademark", which is not confirmed in our data.

  See also: bombardier ((2))  motor toboggan  snowmobile (meaning 1)  

  • This form has all but replaced the original trade name Bombardier once used for the vehicle and has become a generic name for motorized toboggans; the name may have been influenced by the North American slang expression skidoo 'go away fast' (COD-2 "skidoo"; but see 2003 quotation). Today, there is strong evidence to suggest that the more transparent term snowmobile is pushing aside skidoo at least in more urban centres and has become the most widely used term in Canada.
  • Metcalf (2016: 63), considers the verb skidoo as "likely a variant of skedaddle 'to scurry away', which had been around since the [...] [American] Civil War" and is said to derive from an 1861 Union army defeat (ibid: 21).

• 2 v. & verbal n. — Transportation

  to ride a skidoo.

  Type: 1. Origin — Mostly used as a verbal noun (see, e.g. the 1968, 2016 quotations), the term is also found as a plain verb (see the 2009 quotation). See meaning 1.

  • Use as a main verb (see the 2009 quotation) is predominantly a feature of spoken Canadian English. Most Canadians, however, at least those that are not avid skidoo people, would prefer the more traditional to ride a snowmobile/skidoo.

• 3 adj. — Transportation

  pertaining to a skidoo (see meaning 1)

  Type: 1. Origin — See meaning 1.