caribou
UK /ˈkærɪbuː/ · US /ˈkæɹəbu/ noun, proper noun
Forms caribous
- noun Any of several North American subspecies Rangifer tarandus of the reindeer.
- proper noun A rural area of Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
- proper noun A census-designated place in Plumas County, California, United States.
- proper noun A ghost town in Boulder County, Colorado.
- proper noun A city in Aroostook County, Maine.
- proper noun A township and unincorporated community in Kittson County, Minnesota.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Canadian French caribou, from Mi'kmaq qalipu (“caribou”; compare qalipi, “to shovel snow”), from Proto-Algonquian *maka·lipowa (“caribou”, literally “it shovels snow”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The American reindeer, especially the common or woodland species (Rangifer Caribou). Barren Ground caribou. See under Barren.
Etymology [Canadian French.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “caribou”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details