turtle (1)

animal_reptile

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *wa-hké, *wi-hké

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa

Crow dáakko ‘snapping turtle’ GG:40, RGG:2

Hidatsa ra•káka• ‘snapping turtle’ J

Pre-Mandan

Mandan pkéʔ ‘snapping turtle’ RTC

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *hke

Proto-Dakota *khe(-ya)

Lakota khé ‘large turtle’ RTC , kheyá ‘large turtle’ RTC

Dakota kéya , †khéya ‘large tortoise’

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *khé•

Chiwere khe ‘turtle’ GM

Hoocąk kée ‘turtle’ KM:1778 , kee; keecąk

Proto-Dhegiha *hké

Omaha-Ponca kké ‘turtle’ RTC

Kanza/Kaw kke ‘turtle’ RR

Osage ḳe , †hke ‘turtle’ LF:84b

Quapaw kke ‘turtle’ RR

Proto-Catawba

Catawba kayáʔ ‘terrapin’

General comment

Cf. ‘turtle (2)’. The two terms are doubtfully related. Vowel development, especially in Mandan where it should be uniform, is divergent. Proto-Siouan most likely had the long vowel by position, even though direct evidence is found only in Hoocąk, where length is neutralized in monosyllables. Although there are look-alikes in Algonquian, the Proto-Siouan aspiration can be accounted for by Carter’s Law. On Catawba kasəmíʔ ‘stink turtle’ (Sa-12) cf. Choctaw kosoma ‘stink’. Other animal terms show reflexes of the prefix *wi-.

There is no direct evidence of the prefix vowel here, but *i seems likely although the prefix *wa- is possible.

Other languages

  • Tunica: kóhku MRH. JEK: Possible comparable Algonquian Etymon for PSI *hké or *pké ‘turtle’ Fox: mešihke:ha mahkwa:hke:hani ‘snapping turtle (P) and tortoise (O)’ (Goddard ______:277) (‘The obviative in Fox narrative discourse’) Kickapoo: mesihkeeha ‘snapping turtle’ (Voorhis 1988:69) Kickapoo: maskoteehkeeha ‘terrapin, land turtle (Voorhis 1988:63) Menomini mɛhkɛɛnaah (-kok) ‘big turtle; dirty-spoken person’ (Bloomfield/Hockett 1975:117) Menomini: mesihkɛw ‘legendary name of turtle as person’ (Bloomfield/Hockett 1975:127) Miami: käkkityata ‘map turtle’ (Voegelin ______:298) No turtle form in Aubin or in Siebert 1967. JEK: Notes: OP Kké=ttąga ‘Big Turtle; Snapping Turtle’ is the name of a mythical character, evidently a turtle-cum-man in the usual mythological fashion, who forms a war party and raids the enemy. Dorsey has the OP text; I have noted the same story in a Fox collection. The same form is also the term for ‘snapping turtle’. RR: In this connection, cf. mushiao ‘snapping turtle (nickname)’ JGT92-265 #8426.
Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources