igloo

igloo
/ig"looh/, n., pl. igloos.
1. an Eskimo house, being a dome-shaped hut usually built of blocks of hard snow.
2. Informal. any dome-shaped construction thought to resemble an igloo: immense silos topped with steel igloos.
3. Mil. a dome-shaped building for the storage of rockets or other munitions.
4. an excavation made by a seal in the snow over its breathing hole in the ice.
Also, iglu.
[1855-60; < Inuit iglu house]

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Temporary dome-shaped winter home or hunting-ground dwelling of Canadian and Greenland Inuit (Eskimos), made from blocks of snow.

The builder chooses a deep snowdrift of fine-grained, compact snow and cuts it into blocks. After a row of blocks has been laid in a circle, their top surfaces are shaved off in a sloping angle to form the first rung of a spiral. Additional blocks are added to the spiral to draw it inward until a dome is completed, leaving a ventilation hole at the top.

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also spelled  iglu , also called  aputiak,  
 temporary winter home or hunting-ground dwelling of Canadian and Greenland Inuit (Eskimos (Eskimo)). The term igloo, or iglu, from Eskimo igdlu (“house”), is related to Iglulik, a town, and Iglulirmiut, an Inuit people, both on an island of the same name. The igloo, usually made from blocks of snow and dome-shaped, is used only in the area between the Mackenzie River delta and Labrador where, in the summer, Inuit live in sealskin or, more recently, cloth tents.

      To build the igloo, the builder takes a deep snowdrift of fine-grained, compact snow and cuts it into blocks with a snow knife, a swordlike instrument originally made of bone but now usually of metal. Each block is a rectangle measuring about 2 feet by 4 feet (60 cm by 120 cm) and 8 inches (20 cm) thick. After a first row of these blocks has been laid out in a circle on a flat stretch of snow, the top surfaces of the blocks are shaved off in a sloping angle to form the first rung of a spiral. Additional blocks are added to the spiral to draw it inward until the dome is completed except for a hole left at the top for ventilation. Joints and crevices are filled with loose snow. A clear piece of ice or seal intestine is inserted for a window. A narrow, semicylindrical passageway about 10 feet (3 m) long, with vaults for storing supplies, leads into the igloo. Drafts are kept from the main room by a sealskin flap hung over the exterior entrance to the passageway and by a low, semicircular retaining wall that is sometimes built out a few feet from the end of the tube. The major furnishings are a shallow saucer to burn seal blubber for heat and light and a low sleeping platform of snow covered with willow twigs topped by caribou furs.

      The dimensions of igloos vary, but they generally accommodate only one family. An experienced Inuit can build a snow igloo in between one and two hours. Sod, stone, and wood have also been used to construct igloos.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • igloo — ou iglou [ iglu ] n. m. • 1865; mot esquimau « maison » ♦ Abri en forme de dôme, construit avec des blocs de glace ou de neige préalablement découpés. Des igloos, des iglous. ● igloo ou iglou nom masculin (anglais igloo, de l esquimau iglo,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Igloo — Ig loo, n. 1. An Eskimo snow house. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) A cavity, or excavation, made in the snow by a seal, over its breathing hole in the ice. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • igloo — → iglú …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • igloo — (n.) 1824, Canadian English, from an Eskimo word for house, dwelling (Cf. Greenlandic igdlo house ) …   Etymology dictionary

  • igloo — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 7}}[wym. iglo a. {{/stl 7}}{{stl 8}}rzad. {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}}iglu] {{/stl 7}}{{stl 8}}rz. n ndm {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}} okrągły, kopulasty domek zbudowany z brył twardego, zlodowaciałego śniegu lub lodu, wysoki na ok. 2 m, mający… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • igloo — ► NOUN ▪ a dome shaped Eskimo house, typically built from blocks of solid snow. ORIGIN Inuit, house …   English terms dictionary

  • igloo — [ig′lo͞o΄] n. pl. igloos [Esk igdlu, snow house] 1. an Eskimo house or hut, usually dome shaped and built of blocks of packed snow 2. any dome shaped building, esp. one used for storage …   English World dictionary

  • Igloo — L intérieur d un igloo en Alaska, dessiné en 1916 Plan de coupe …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Igloo — An igloo (Inuit language: iglu , Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗ, house , plural: iglooit or igluit , but in English commonly igloos ), translated sometimes as snowhouse, is the Inuit word for house or habitation, [cite… …   Wikipedia

  • igloo — UK [ˈɪɡluː] / US [ˈɪɡlu] noun [countable] Word forms igloo : singular igloo plural igloos a building made from snow or ice …   English dictionary

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