heron, crane

noun animal_bird

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *ó•xka

Pre-Mandan

Mandan ąxká ‘seagull’ H:62

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *hó•kha

Proto-Dakota *hokhá

Lakota hokhá, hokhátho ‘heron’ [-tho ‘blue’] RTC

Dakota hok’á ‘heron’ SRR:152b

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *(h)ó•khV

Chiwere okxa , †okha ‘heron, crane’ LWR:57

Hoocąk hookéčo ‘blue heron’ KM:1443 , hookeco (= hooke + coo)

Proto-Dhegiha

Quapaw hokáxeka , †hokháɣekka ‘type of crane’ JOD

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo *ó•xka

Biloxi oxká, óxka, oo´xk , †ó•xka ‘crane’ D&S:240b

Ofo óskha, óskxa , †óskha ‘crane’ D&S:327b

General comment

MVS initial h is unexplained. Cf. Choctaw uskạp (By-360a), Sixtowns Choctaw oskau ‘white crane’. The Choctaw forms may be borrowed from Ofo. The Quapaw was written with an unmarked k by JOD. It could represent either the aspirated or geminated variety. *xk should yield Quapaw (and DH generally) kh. Biloxi xk is the third distinct reflex of *xk that we have, cf. ‘shake (1)’, ‘shoulder’. Furbee (personal communication) suggests that the initial h may be from the compounding of *ó•xka with *ho ‘fish’. This is certainly plausible. Similar forms may be fairly widespread in North America.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources