water, liquid

physical_substance

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *wa-rį́•

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa *wirí

Crow bilí ‘water’ GG:31, RGG:65

Hidatsa wirí, wíri ‘water’ J

Pre-Mandan *wrį

Mandan wįrį́ʔ ‘water’ RTC

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *mnį́

Proto-Dakota *mnį́

Lakota mní RTC, PAS

Stoney mní PAS

Sioux Valley mní PAS

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *nį́•

Chiwere ñį ‘water’ RTC , ñį• RR

Hoocąk nį́į ‘water’ KM:2309 , nįį

Proto-Dhegiha *nį́

Omaha-Ponca ni ‘water’ RTC

Kanza/Kaw nį ‘water’ RR

Osage nį ‘water’ RR

Quapaw nį ‘water’ RR

Proto-Southeastern *mąnį́•

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo

Biloxi aneʔ, a•neʔ ‘water’ MRH , ʔaneʔ, ʔaniʔ ‘water’ MS , aní, áni, ni ‘water’ D&S:173a

Ofo ā´ni, aní ‘water’ D&S:321a, JSS

Proto-Tutelo-Saponi

Tutelo manī , †mąnį́• ‘water’ H , mĭnĭ´ , †mąnį́• HW

Saponi money ~ moni ‘water’ Byrd

General comment

Possibly some sort of vowel harmony operated on the initial syllable vowel. Cf. ‘deer, ruminant’. Alternatively there may have been prefixes *wa- ‘absolutive’ and *wi- ‘animate absolutive’, which also marked certain nominals. Vowel length is not well represented here and may not be reconstructible.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources