noun animal_mammal
Proto-Siouan-Catawba
Proto-Siouan
Proto-Mississipi-Valley *wasápe
Proto-Dakota
Stoney waθáben ‘black bear’ [-n diminutive (?)] PAS
Proto-Dhegiha *wasápe
Omaha-Ponca wasábe ‘black bear’ RTC
Kanza/Kaw wasábe ‘black bear’ RR
Osage waçábe , †wasápe ‘black bear’ LF:185a
Quapaw wasá JOD
This term, meaning ‘something black’ or ‘the black one’ (with a diminutive suffix in Stoney), replaces the presumably earlier reflexes of *wi-hų́te, *wa-hų́te, q.v. The euphemism could have spread via either borrowing or parallel innovation. Comanche wasape is obviously borrowed, probably from Osage. This term is probably reconstructible within DH, but any Proto-Mississipi-Valley reconstruction is conjectural. Several Muskogean and Algonquian languages also use (different) euphemisms for ‘bear’.
| Language | Cognate | Phonetic Siouan | Meaning | Comment | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|