brain (2)

noun physical_somatic_body_part

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *(rą•-)sú

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa

Hidatsa cuáta ‘brain’ J

Pre-Mandan

Mandan rą́šuta ‘brain, spine’ H:170

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *ną•sú

Proto-Dakota *nasú

Lakota nasú ‘brain, upper head’ RTC , nasúla ‘brain’ EJ

Dakota nasú ‘brain, upper head’ SRR

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *ną•sú

Chiwere ną́•θu ‘head’ JDH , ną•θúxli• ‘brain’ RR

Hoocąk nąąsú ‘head (body part)’ KM:2224 , nąąsu

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Tutelo-Saponi

Tutelo wasūt, wasōti , †wasu•ti H

General comment

Cf. ‘brain (1)’. Hidatsa and Tutelo show forms without *rą•. Chiwere/Hoocąk unaccented long vowel makes this a transparent compound in that subgroup and, presumably, in MVS. Other languages split the roots. *rą• clearly had a long vowel, since it is preserved even when accent shifts to the second member of the compound. Tutelo suggests that *su• should also be long, but that length may be secondary, since it is not supported by Hidatsa. This may be an old compound of Proto-Siouan *rą• (used with numerous upper body parts) and *su• ‘kernel, seed’.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources