bitter

verb perceptual_taste

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *hpá•(-re)

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa

Hidatsa arapá•riʔ ‘bile’ J

Pre-Mandan *pa•-

Mandan pá•roʔš ‘it’s bitter’ RTC

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *hpá

Proto-Dakota *phá

Lakota phá ‘bitter’ RTC

Dakota phá ‘bitter’ SRR:402 , p’a

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere

Chiwere phá ‘bitter’ RR

Proto-Dhegiha *hpá

Omaha-Ponca ppá ‘bitter’ RTC

Kanza/Kaw ppá ‘bitter’ RR

Osage hpá ‘bitter’ RR

Quapaw ppá ‘bitter’ RR

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo *pha(-ri)

Biloxi padí , †padi ‘bitter’ D&S:243a , anipa , †anipa ‘whiskey’ D&S:243a

Ofo alaphá , †-phá ‘whiskey’ D&S:320b

Proto-Tutelo-Saponi

Tutelo -pa- ‘strawberry’ H , haspahīnuk

General comment

Interpretation of Riggs’ p’ as glottalized pʔ rather than aspirated ph is an error that has been perpetuated in numerous subsequent reconstructions. As far as we can tell pʔ is not substantiated in any other source. We cannot tell whether Ofo ala- beside Hidatsa ara- represents common descent from Proto-Siouan or convergent but independent development. Given the gloss ‘whiskey’, Ofo alaphá may well be from ani ‘water’ and aphá ‘bitter’, exactly paralleling the Biloxi.

The vowel sequence į+a would collapse to a, and the n would denasalize to l upon loss of the nasal vowel, cf. alúthĕ ‘drown’ in DS-320b for a possible parallel. Ofo l seems most often to be the reflex of a *Cr cluster however. Unfortunately, the above analysis is not available for the Hidatsa form. Aspiration and vowel length in this set suggest a lost initial syllable.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources