Yupik

noun

Yu·​pik ˈyü-(ˌ)pik 

plural Yupik also Yupiks or Yupiit ˈyü-ˌpēt 

1

: a member of a group of Indigenous peoples of chiefly southwestern Alaska and eastern Siberia

2

: the languages of the Yupik people

Examples of Yupik in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Although shaded eyeglasses made from smoky quartz are said to date back to 12th-century China, sun-protective eyewear may have first emerged among the Indigenous people of the Arctic, such as the ancestors of the Inuit or Yupik tribes. —Discover Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024

That leaves only two native Alaskan languages still being learned by children and thus not yet doomed: Siberian Yupik, with 1,000 speakers, and Central Yupik, with a grand total of 10,000 speakers. —Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019

Residents filled the gym at John Apangalook School in Gambell, home to the King Polar Bears — or Qughsatkut in Siberian Yupik— sports teams. —Mark Thiessen, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023

Heads bowed for an invocation offered in Siberian Yupik. —Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Central Alaskan Yupik yúppik, literally, authentic person

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

Yupik

noun

Yu·​pik

ˈyü-(ˌ)pik

plural Yupik also Yupiks or Yupiit

ˈyü-ˌpēt

1

: a member of a group of Indigenous peoples of chiefly southwestern Alaska and eastern Siberia

2

: the language of the Yupik people