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Samoyed (n.)

Siberian Mongolian people, 1580s, from Russian samoyed (11c.), traditionally literally "self-eaters," i.e. "cannibals" (the first element cognate with same, the second with eat), but this might be Russian folk etymology of a native name:

The common Russian etymology of the name Samoyed, meaning "self-eater," deepened the Russians' already exotic image of far-northerners. The most probable linguistic origin of Samoyed, however, is from the Saami — saam-edne, "land of the people" [Andrei V. Golovnev and Gail Osherenko, "Siberian Survival: The Nenets and Their Story," Cornell University, 1999]

Which would make the name a variant of Suomi "Finn." The native name is Nenets. As the name of a type of dog (once used as a working dog in the Arctic) it is attested from 1889.

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Definitions of Samoyed from WordNet

Samoyed (n.)
a Samoyedic-speaking person in northwestern Siberia;
Samoyed (n.)
the Uralic languages spoken by the Samoyed in northwestern Siberia;
Synonyms: Samoyedic
Samoyed (n.)
Siberian breed of white or cream-colored dog of the spitz family;
Synonyms: Samoyede
From wordnet.princeton.edu