Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “caribou” come from?

Caribou comes from French caribou, borrowed from Mi'kmaq qalipu, ultimately derived from Proto-Algonquian maka·lipowa, itself built from the root maka·l-.

caribou (English): Any of several North American subspecies of the...

Definitions

  1. Any of several North American subspecies of the...

Ancestry of “caribou”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Canadian Frenchcariboucaribou
2Mi'kmaqqalipucaribou
3Proto-Algonquianmaka·lipowacaribou
4Proto-Algonquianmaka·l-scrape, shovel, remove

Words derived from “caribou”

  • caribouskin
Every word from Proto-Algonquian maka·l- →