niece (2), female’s brother’s daughter

noun social_kin

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan [old reconstruction only]

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *i-htó•žą < **i-htó•š-žą JEK

Proto-Dakota *thožą́

Lakota thožą́ ‘female’s brother’s daughter’ EJ

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere

Chiwere hį•thó•škemį ‘niece, Otoe male speaking’ RR

Proto-Dhegiha *ihtóžąke, *ihtóžǫke

Kanza/Kaw iččóžǫge ‘niece, woman’s brother’s girl’ RR

Osage iṭsúzhoⁿge , †ihcóžąke LF:81a

Quapaw ittóžąke ‘niece, woman’s elder brother’s daughter’ RR

Proto-Southeastern *ito-

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo

Biloxi tûsŭ´ñḳi, tusuñḳiyaⁿ , †tusə̨́ki ‘his elder sister’s daughter’ D&S:282a

Proto-Tutelo-Saponi

Tutelo eṭosĭñ´k , †etosį́k ‘his sister’s daughter’ HW

General comment

This is yet another term that does not really seem to be reconstructible outside of MVS. The OVS forms seem clearly to involve compounding with a similar but non-corresponding second root. The second root, žąke ~ žą, in the MVS forms is from Proto-Mississipi-Valley *ižą́ke ‘daughter’.

The root, tó•š, evidently loses its sibilant in compounding. The Biloxi form appears to be an exact parallel, though the forms are not cognate. The form means something like ‘junior female member of an i-htoš lineage’. N.B. Quapaw and Dakota preserve both ‘niece’ terms. Only MVS has the male-female speaker distinction?

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources