Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. A condition affecting dogs or other animals in the Arctic, characterized by aggressive behavior and seizures.
- n. A condition affecting the Inuit peoples in winter, characterised by a period of frenzied activity or irrational behaviour, followed by unconsciousness or stupor.
Etymologies
- From Inuktun *pivliRuRtuq ("is mad, has hysteria or fever"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Aside from rheumatism and bronchial troubles, the Eskimos are fairly healthy; but the adults are subject to a peculiar nervous affection which they call piblokto–a form of hysteria.”
“When an Eskimo is attacked with piblokto indoors, nobody pays much attention, unless the sufferer should reach for a knife or attempt to injure some one.”
“The well-known madness among the Eskimo dogs is also called piblokto.”
“I have never known a child to have piblokto; but some one among the adult Eskimos would have an attack every day or two, and one day there were five cases.”
“Dogs suffering from piblokto are usually shot, but they are often eaten by the Eskimos.”
“Poor brute, it was no use, and in a short while he commenced to develop symptoms of the dread piblokto, so in mercy he was killed.”
“Dog fights were hourly occurrences, and we lost a great many by the ravages of the mysterious Arctic disease, piblokto, which affects all dog life and frequently human life.”
“When an Eskimo is attacked with _piblokto_ indoors, nobody pays much attention, unless the sufferer should reach for a knife or attempt to injure some one.”
The North Pole Its Discovery in 1909 under the auspices of the Peary Arctic Club
“Dogs suffering from _piblokto_ are usually shot, but they are often eaten by the Eskimos.”
The North Pole Its Discovery in 1909 under the auspices of the Peary Arctic Club
“Strange to say, none of the Eskimos was attacked with _piblokto_ because of their fright, and I learned that one of the women, Ahtetah, had remained quietly sewing in the Eskimo quarters during the whole disturbance.”
The North Pole Its Discovery in 1909 under the auspices of the Peary Arctic Club
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘piblokto’.
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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Loan words from Inuktitut
anorak, igloo, kayak, umiak, nasaaq, kabloona, piblokto, nunatak, pingo
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Foyle's Philavery
A selection from Christopher Foyle's book, Foyle's Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words, which I was delighted to learn about here.
abligurition, arcifinious, batterfang, bottomry, broggle, brool, cacoepy, cark, dangleation, dasyphyllous, dentiloquy, deglute and 93 more...
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The doctor's here.
Words found in medical texts.
tinnitus, enterobacteriaceae, photolyase, entrainment, photoreceptor, cryptochrome, gout, demodicosis, hemangioma, interferometer, ichthyosis, hypothyroidism and 36 more...
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medical conditions
diseases, maladies, complaints
Creutzfeldt–Jakob..., kuru, field's condition, Jumping Frenchman..., Blaschko's lines, piblokto, morgellons, pica, riley-day syndrome, ondine's curse, polydipsia, diphallic terata and 8 more...
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Truly obscure
In the spirit of the "It has a name?" list.
corsned, corrobboree, aqua regis, cliometrics, grobian, pricket, pyewacket, juglandaceous, dwergmal, ballhooter, culacino, calenture and 14 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for piblokto.

BrainyBabe See SAD and foehn, by the sounds of it. Dec 22, 2008
sionnach a winter-related hysteria and depression among the Inuit Jul 28, 2008