sweet (1)

verb perceptual_taste

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *sikú•-e

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa *cikua < *cikúhe

Crow čikúa ‘sweet’ GG:37

Hidatsa cikúa ‘sweet’ J , xikua ‘sour’

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *skú•(-re)

Proto-Dakota *skúyA

Lakota skúya ‘sweet’ RTC , kiskúyA ‘go sour’ RTC

Stoney skúya ~ skúwa ‘sweet’ [+ablaut when derived nominal] PAS

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *skú•

Chiwere θkú ~ hkú ‘sweet’ RR

Hoocąk sgúu ‘sweet’ KM:2832 , sguu

Proto-Dhegiha *skú•re

Omaha-Ponca skíðe ‘sweet’ RTC , skí•ðe ‘sweet’ RR

Kanza/Kaw skü•´we ‘sweet’ RR

Osage skü•´we ‘sweet’ RR , çki´the , †skíðe ‘sweet’ LF:31b

Quapaw skíde ‘sweet’ RR

General comment

Cf. ‘sweet (2)’ for the corresponding š-forms. Both ‘sweet’ terms must be reconstructed together, and by and large they jibe. There are three interesting questions. (a) Was there a vowel separating S from k? We reconstruct one, as it appears in several languages and renders accent and length in the second syllable completely regular. (b) What accounts for the Mandan and Tutelo nasalization? We have no answer, except to point out that this is not the first time we have found aberrant nasalization. Mandan and Chiwere are the usual offenders. (c) The toughest and most interesting question obviously involves the final syllable and the glide or consonant that introduces it.

It has generally been the case that Proto-Siouan did not allow vowel sequences. So Proto-Siouan presumably had a phonetic glide preceding -e, which probably had morphemic status. We are unable to reconstruct the glide. The second element itself might be ‘food’, q.v. As both Lakota and Hidatsa indicate, an earlier gloss for this series might be ‘strongly flavored’; cf. also the ‘salt’ meanings with the š-grade.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources