brother-in-law (2) wHuBr, wSiHu

noun social_kin

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *(i-)ší•kʔe

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa *i-šikiša

Crow iščitá ‘woman’s brother-in-law’ RG, GG:91, RGG:23

Hidatsa išíkišaʻ ‘woman’s brother-in-law’ J

Pre-Mandan *sike

Mandan kosíke ‘woman’s brother-in-law’ H:206

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *(i-)ší•kʔe

Proto-Dakota *šikʔé

Lakota šičʔé ‘woman’s brother-in-law’ RTC

Stoney šičhé [possessed] PAS , šičhe kču PAS

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *ší•kʔe

Chiwere sikʔe LWR:44

Otoe i•šíkhe RR

Hoocąk šiikʔé, hišikʔé [woman speaking] KM:1079 , šiik’e, hišik’e

Proto-Dhegiha *išíkʔe

Omaha-Ponca šiʔe JOD

Kanza/Kaw išíkʔe RR

Osage ishíkʔe , †išíkʔe ‘her brother-in-law’ LF:78a

Quapaw išíkʔe JOD

General comment

Biloxi yíñḳa yíḳi ‘husband’s brother’ DS-293b is superficially similar, but most probably represents a mishearing of †yį́ka yį́ki = ‘little husband’. Such expressions are widespread in societies with the levirate, a custom common in other Siouan groups. Although vowel length is justified and expected in MVS, the Crow/Hidatsa cognates lack it. As in several other cases, Mandan has the possessive in ko-. Here, as in ‘brother-in-law (1) mWiBr, mSiHu’, inalienable possessive *i- may be Proto-Siouan, or the term may not have been a dependent noun in the proto-language. The lack of matching for vowel length along with parallel problems with the man’s equivalent (and the semantics of in-law terms) makes this a possible scenario.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources