oak (2)

noun plant

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *ú•te-hu•

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *ú•tehu

Proto-Dakota *útahu

Lakota úṫahu , †útahu ‘oak tree’ EB:508b , úṫahu caŋ , †útahu čhą ‘burr oak’ EB:508b

Dakota útahu ‘oak tree’ SRR:487a

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere

Chiwere búthugaįñe ‘burr oak’ GMsf , bú•thu ‘oak’ RR

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo *ú•ti(-hu)

Biloxi tcûtcáxkudí , †čučáxkudi [Q. nigra] D&S:261b , utí , †utí ‘mast, acorns’ D&S:283a , údi , †údi ‘oak’ D&S:261b

Ofo ū´tu , †ú•tu ‘oak’ D&S:331b, JSS

General comment

Cf. ‘oak (1)’, ‘acorn’, ‘base, root, stump’. Here the evident meaning is ‘acorn tree’, though this is an irregular set. The Biloxi and Ofo forms look as though they may have been influenced by western Muskogean terms for chestnut: Choctaw oti, uti ‘chestnut’ (By:307b). Obviously this term has been widely borrowed from some unidentified ancient source and may not be SI at all.

Other languages

  • PUA UA *tua ‘oak tree’; Miller 309
Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources