My adolescent son gives a UC Berkeley freshperson as his citation of authority for the following: "Eskimo" is a term applied by Europeans to Inuit peoples. She says that in the Inuit language the word "Eskimo" is an obscene reference to female genitals. This is NOT the etymology I have found in the Merriam Webster college or other dictionaries. (Although the reference in at least one dictionary to 'one who eats raw flesh' is at least suggestive.)

Any better authorities for the etymology of this word?

Anyone know if the word "Eskimo" is deemed obscene by the Inuit?

at first I considered this notion so fatuous as to not warrant a response; but upon furher review, I'd give it this much of a guess: the combination of the generally accepted* etymology (an Indian word for eater of raw flesh) and the fact that the Inuit people don't like the word and refer to themselves as Inuit could lead one (especially a freshman!) to such a notion.

*but see this (from alt.usage.english)
http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxeskimo.html

*but see this (from alt.usage.english)
http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxeskimo.html

Thanks, tsuwm. It seems the question of what to call indigenous peoples is a tricky one. I asked several Maori speakers, including two for whom it is their first language, and all seemed agreed that the closest they could come for "Maori" is "ordinary." I guess that until colonists arrived, peoples like the Inuit and the Maori didn't need words to distinguish themselves from others, since there were no others.