Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A one- or two-hole kayak used by the Aleut and various Alaskan Eskimo groups.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative form of
bidarka .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Russian baĭdarka, diminutive of baĭdara, of Siberian origin.]
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word baidarka.
Examples
-
Now, can I have the baidarka, or do I have to settle for the keys to the umiak?
-
George Dyson (son of theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson) popularized the baidarka in the 1980s, adapting the traditional sealskin-over-driftwood design to one consisting of a sealed polyester skin on a frame made of bent aluminum tubing and waterjet cut aluminum plates, lashed together with what appears to be whipping cord.
The Maritime Law Edition Guest Contributor 2021
reesetee commented on the word baidarka
The name sometimes given to an Aleutian-style sea kayak. The word baidarka originated with early Russian settlers in Alaska. The boat has a forked (bifurcated) bow and is made out of seal skin sewn by Aleut women over a frame made by Aleut men of driftwood, bone, and sinew. Once complete, a baidarka was treated as a living being by Aleut men, and it was taboo for women to handle it.
In modern times, George Dyson has revived the baidarka, but these are made from modern materials: an aluminium frame and "skin" of coated polyester fabric.
December 4, 2007