aunt, father’s sister

noun social_kin

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *i-htų́•wį

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa

Hidatsa itú• ‘mother’s brother’s wife, sister-in-law’ J

Pre-Mandan *tu•wrįk

Mandan ptú•wįrįks ‘my aunt’ RTC

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *i-htų́•wį

Proto-Dakota *thųwį́

Lakota thųwį́ RTC

Dakota toŋwiŋ , †thųwį́ ‘aunt’ WM:11b

Stoney thųwį́ PAS

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *i-thų́•wį

Chiwere ithúmį ‘aunt’ GM

Hoocąk čų́ųwį KM:287 , cųųwį

Proto-Dhegiha *i-htímį

Omaha-Ponca ittími ‘father’s sister’ RTC

Kanza/Kaw iččímį ‘father’s sister’ RR

Osage ihcímį ‘father’s sister’ RR

Quapaw ittímį ‘father’s sister’ RR

Proto-Southeastern *tomį́•

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo

Biloxi tóⁿni, tóⁿniyaⁿ, toⁿní (vocative) , †tą́ni ‘aunt’ D&S:279b

Proto-Tutelo-Saponi

Tutelo tomīn , †tomį• ‘aunt’ H

General comment

The root is a dependent noun, thus the initial *i- in Proto-Siouan. Aspiration and the accentual and vowel length patterns suggest that the form must be reconstructed with the possessive prefix even though it is less prevalent in the reflexes than is the case with many other kinship terms. The stressed V in Kanza/Kaw and Osage is aberrant. It should be *ü or *ų̈. ų̈ does not occur however so į or i may be the normal outcome of it. For whatever reason, the sequence *wV̨h seems to preserve oral w, v. ‘female, flint’. Mandan has compounded the root with *rįk ‘little’ to form a diminutive. Biloxi has added the -nį suffix found also in the terms for ‘mother (1) (referential)’ and ‘grandmother’, q.v. The resulting w-n cluster simplifies to n; cf. ‘three’.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources