Alaska
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: alaska
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Etymology
From Russian Аля́ска (Aljáska, “Alaska”), in turn from Aleut alaxsxaq (“mainland”, literally “that toward which the action of the sea is directed”),[1] composed of alag (“pertaining to the sea”) + -sxa (nominalizing suffix, yields 'the objective of action expressed by the root') + -q (nominalizing suffix).[2]
Commonly misattributed to Russian ала (ala) + -ский (-skij, adjectival suffix).
Pronunciation
- enPR: ə-lăsʹkə, IPA(key): /əˈlæs.kə/
Audio (General American): (file) - Hyphenation: A‧las‧ka
Proper noun
Alaska
- A state of the United States, formerly a territory. Capital: Juneau. Postal code: AK, largest city: Anchorage.
- 1869, George Davidson, Pacific Coast. Coast Pilot of Alaska, (First Part,) From Southern Boundary to Cook's Inlet. 1869, page 32f:
- 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°.
- 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:
- Alaska was discovered about a century ago by Russian furhunters[.]
- 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:
- Alaska's earliest inhabitants were nomadic hunters traveling in small bands. They arrived in interior Alaska at least 13,000 years ago […]
- Several places in the United States, named for the state or territory.
- A township in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
- An unincorporated community in Morgan and Owen counties, Indiana.
- An unincorporated community in Cibola County, New Mexico.
- An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.
- An unincorporated community in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.
- An unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia.
- An unincorporated community in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.
Derived terms
Translations
US state
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Noun
Alaska (plural Alaskas)
- Ellipsis of baked Alaska.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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:
- 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!
- 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:
Alternative forms
See also
| States: Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming |
| Federal District: Washington, D.C. |
| Territories: American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · United States minor outlying islands · United States Virgin Islands |
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Alaska”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- Ransom, J. Ellis (1940) “Derivation of the word ‘Alaska’”, in American Anthropologist, volume 42, number 3, retrieved 2022-06-07, pages 550-551
Further reading
Anagrams
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