DCHP-2

qulliq [kulːik] kudlik, kullik, < Inuktitut DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. & adj. — Aboriginal (Inuit), Territories, especially Nunavut

  a soapstone lamp fuelled by seal oil (see Image 1).

  Type: 1. Origin — Qulliq is a borrowing from Inuktitut, one of the principal languages of the Inuit peoples of the Canadian north. The term is virtually unknown outside of Canada (see Chart 1). This traditional lamp is of great cultural significance, as it is one of the key symbols of Inuit culture, featuring in the inauguration ceremony on the occasion of the creation of the Nunavut Territory in 1999, and in the Nunavut coat of arms (see Image 2).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "quiliq", which is marked "Cdn (North)", and OED-3, s.v. "kudlik", which is marked "Canad.".

  See also: inukshuk  Inuit  

  • The qulliq appears on the coat of arms of Nunavut to the left of the inukshuk (see Image 2).
    Note that we include the 1956 quotation because it is an early use. However, it's not clear why the quotation equated the lamp with the very different Primus stove (which uses kerosene as a fuel), unless the source of heat was not clear in the photograph that the quotation refers to.