tupilak

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noun

A monster (either invisible or having a physical form constructed from animal bones, sinew, etc) created in secret by a shaman and sent into the sea to seek and kill a specific enemy.

OriginGreenlandic tupilak ← Inuktitut ᑐᐱᓚᒃ →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nountupilak (plural tupilaks or tupilat)

plural tupilaks · plural tupilat · alternative tupilaq

  1. Inuit mythologyA monster (either invisible or having a physical form constructed from animal bones, sinew, etc) created in secret by a shaman and sent into the sea to seek and kill a specific enemy.
  2. A (small) representation of such a monster, often carved from whale bone.

Origin

  1. Inuktitutᑐᐱᓚᒃ
  2. Greenlandictupilak
  3. Englishtupilak

From Greenlandic tupilak or Inuktitut ᑐᐱᓚᒃ (topilak), ᑐᐱᓚᖅ (topilaq).

More words from Greenlandic, Inuktitut

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Patikul
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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