Skræling

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Skræling (plural:skrælingar) is what the Vikings called the Dorset from Greenland when they encountered them, and they used the same name for the inhabitants (possibly the ancestors of the later Beothuk) of North America ("Vinland"), when they voyaged there.

It originates from Old Norse and the meaning varies across different dialects in Scandinavia. Generally, the base word skral connotes "thin" or "scrawny". In Norwegian it is often used as a synonym for feeling sick or weak.

The Greenlandic self-designation Kalaalleq may be a corruption of the Norse Skræling (the combination skr is unknown in the Inuit language).

References

[online etymology dictionary] and [Native Languages of the Americas].

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