blade, edged tool

noun physical_artefact_tool

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *wą́•hį

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa

Hidatsa wa•ʔí• ‘arrowhead’ J , ma•ʔí•

Pre-Mandan

Mandan wą́•hį ‘knife’ RTC

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *wą́•hį

Proto-Dakota *wąhį́

Lakota wahíŋ , †wąhį́ ‘flint’ EB:517b , wąhį́kpe , †wąhį́ ‘arrow’ RTC

Dakota waŋhiŋkpe , †wąhįkpe ‘arrow’ WM:9b

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *mą́•hį

Chiwere má•hį ~ mą́hį ‘knife’ RR

Hoocąk mąąhį́ ‘knife’ KM:1960 , mąąhį ‘arrowhead’ KM:2075 , mą́įsu , mąįsu

Proto-Dhegiha *mą́hį

Omaha-Ponca mą́hį ‘knife’ RR

Kanza/Kaw mą́hį ‘knife’ RR

Osage móⁿhiⁿ , †mą́hį ‘knife’ LF:98b , moⁿhiⁿsi , †mą́hį ‘arrowhead’ LF:98b

Quapaw mą́hį ‘knife’ RR , mą́hįsí ‘arrowhead’ JOD

General comment

The form is probably a compound whose first element is Proto-Siouan *wą•he ‘chert, flint’, q.v. In MVS, final *-he disappears unless protected by a suffix (e.g. *-ka, cf. ‘earth, ground, land’). The second element may be Proto-Siouan *į, which appears to be attested in some reflexes of ‘end, point, tip (1)’, q.v. In this case, the h of MVS forms has been protected. On the other hand, the second element may be equated with Proto-Siouan *hi ‘tooth (1), edge, point’, with loss of older *he in MVS and rightward spread of nasalization. The Hidatsa ʔi strongly indicates a bimorphemic form in that language, though it is not necessarily the case that the Hidatsa -i is to be directly compared to the į elsewhere. Lakota and Dakota show a fuller derivation with įkpa ‘tip’ (not just the į). Hoocąk, Osage, and Quapaw form a further derivation with su ‘kernel, seed’.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources