alaska

A·las·ka
A1L1A1S1K5A1
/əˈlæskə/[əˈlæskə]/əˈlæs.kə/[əˈlæs.kʰə]

proper noun

A state of the United States, formerly a territory. Capital: Juneau. Largest city: Anchorage. Postal code: AK.

Very commonScrabble 10

Meanings

alaska1

nounalaska (plural alaskas)

plural alaskas

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Alaska (“baked Alaska”).

Alaska2

proper noun
  1. A state of the United States, formerly a territory. Capital: Juneau. Largest city: Anchorage. Postal code: AK.

    Alaska was discovered about a century ago by Russian furhunters[.]

    1875, A History of the Wrongs of Alaska. An Appeal to the People and Press of America. Printed by Order of the Anti-Monopoly Association of the Pacific Coast. February, 1875, page 3
    3 more examples

    We have no available sources of information concerning the vegetation northward of the peninsula of Alaska from Bristol Bay, in 58°, to the mouth of the Kwichpak, in latitude 63°.

    1869, George Davidson, Pacific Coast. Coast Pilot of Alaska, (First Part,) From Southern Boundary to Cook's Inlet. 1869, page 32f

    Alaska's earliest inhabitants were nomadic hunters traveling in small bands. They arrived in interior Alaska at least 13,000 years ago […]

    2004, Transformation of the U.S. Army Alaska: Final Environmental Impact Statement. Volume 1. Prepared For: United States Army Alaska Department of the Army. Prepared By: Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado, pages 3–108

    Not that violence against humans is essential for a region to become boycottworthy. On the ethical consumer website’s list of “progressive boycotts”, campaigners also argue for boycotts on Alaska (wolf-killing) and Canada (for seal-killing, seafood), on Japan (whales) and Mauritius for exporting live primates.

    2015 June 6, Catherine Bennett, “Oh, why don’t we boycott boycotts? They are pointless”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 Nov 2020
  2. A peninsula in southwest Alaska, United States, in full the Alaska Peninsula.
  3. Several places in the United States, named for the state or territory.
nounAlaska (plural Alaskas)

plural Alaskas · alternative alaska

  1. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of baked Alaska.
    2 more examples

    I dined at Delmonico's hard by the Fifth-avenue Hotel, a few nights ago; and among the dainties which that consummate caterer favoured us with, was an entremet called an "Alaska." The "Alaska" is a baked ice. A beau mentir qui vient de loin; but this is no traveller's tale. The nucleus or core of the entremet is an ice cream. This is surrounded by an envelope of carefully whipped cream, which, just before the dainty dish is served, is popped into the oven, or is brought under the scorching influence of a red hot salamander; so that its surface is covered with a light brown crust. So you go on discussing the warm cream soufflé till you come, with somewhat painful suddenness, on the row of ice.

    1879 December 5, George Augustus [Henry] Sala, “Fashion and Food in New York”, in America Revisited: From the Bay of New York to the Gulf of Mexico, and from Lake Michigan to the Pacific., volume I, London: Vizetelly & Co., 42, Catherine Street, Strand, published 1882, →OCLC; 3nd edition, London: Vizetelly & Co., 42, Catherine Street, Strand, 1883, →OCLC, page 90

    Preparing the dessert, Dunlap pours a shallow pool of crème anglaise into a dish and adds an Alaska. Next he pours half Bacardi 151 rum ("this one's not for drinking," he warns) and half root beer schnapps into a sauceboat. It's show time! […] We dip the spoon into the Bacardi/schnapps mixture, and heat the spoon's base with a mini torch. When the spoon goes back into the sauceboat, its contents ignite immediately. Yikes! Next, with our left hand, we pick up a long knife and place the tip firmly into the meringue-covered Alaska. Then, with our right, we pick up the flaming rum- and schnapps-filled sauceboat and pour it down the side of the knife. We gape as flaming liquid hits the dessert and encases it in flames. Oooh! Ahhh!

    2006 July, “Ice Cream: Some Great Stops, from Parlors to Gelaterias”, in Rebecca Burns, editor, Atlanta, volume 46, number 3, Atlanta, Ga., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 80

Origin

  1. Aleutalag
  2. Aleutalaxsxaq
  3. RussianАля́ска (Aljáska)
  4. EnglishAlaska

From Russian Аля́ска (Aljáska, “Alaska”), in turn from Aleut alaxsxaq (“a mainland”, literally “that toward which the action of the sea is directed”), composed of alag (“pertaining to the sea”) + -sxa (nominalizing suffix, yields 'the objective of action expressed by the root') + -q (nominalizing suffix). Commonly misattributed to Russian ала (ala) + -ский (-skij, adjectival suffix).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic أَلَاسْكَا
  • أَلَاسْكَا (ʔalāskā)US state
Bulgarian Аля̀ска
  • Аля̀ска (Aljàska)US state
Catalan Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Chinese Mandarin 阿拉斯加州
  • 阿拉斯加州 (Ālāsījiā zhōu)US state
Czech Aljaška
  • AljaškaUS state
Danish Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Dutch Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Esperanto Alasko
  • AlaskoUS state
Estonian Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Finnish Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
French Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
German Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Greek Αλάσκα
  • Αλάσκα (Aláska)US state
Hawaiian ʻĀlaka
  • ʻĀlakaUS state
Hebrew אלסקה
  • אלסקה (aláska)US state
Hindi अलास्का
  • अलास्का (alāskā)US state
Hungarian Alaszka
  • AlaszkaUS state
Icelandic Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Indonesian Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Irish Alasca
  • AlascaUS state
Italian Alaska, Alasca
  • AlaskaUS state
  • AlascaUS state
Japanese アラスカ州
  • アラスカ州 (Arasuka-shū)US state
Korean 알래스카, 얼래쓰커
  • 알래스카 (Allaeseuka)US state
  • 얼래쓰커 (Eollaesseukeo)US state
Latin Alasca
  • AlascaUS state
Latvian Aļaska
  • AļaskaUS state
Lithuanian Aliaska
  • AliaskaUS state
Malay Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Norwegian Bokmål Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Persian آلاسکا
  • آلاسکا (âlâskâ)US state
Polish Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Portuguese Alasca
  • AlascaUS state
Romanian Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Russian Аля́ска
  • Аля́ска (Aljáska)US state
Slovak Aljaška
  • AljaškaUS state
Spanish Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Swedish Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Tagalog Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Thai อะแลสกา
  • อะแลสกา (à-lɛ́ɛs-gâa)US state
Turkish Alaska
  • AlaskaUS state
Ukrainian Аляска
  • Аляска (Aljaska)US state
Urdu الاسکا
  • الاسکا (alāskā)US state
Vietnamese Alaska, A-lát-xca
  • AlaskaUS state
  • A-lát-xcaUS state
Yiddish אַלאַסקאַ
  • אַלאַסקאַ (alaska)US state
Cite this entry
APA

alaska. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alaska

MLA

“alaska.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alaska. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alaska,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alaska.

Source: alaska on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.