ancestor, chief, elder, relative

noun social_kin

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *hų́•ka

Pre-Mandan

Mandan hų́ka ‘parent’ H:83

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *hų́•ka

Proto-Dakota *hųká

Lakota hųká ‘ancestor, chief, elder, relative’ RTC

Dakota huŋká , †hųká ‘parent, ancestor’ SRR:157b

Stoney hųgá ‘chief’ PAS

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *hų́•ke

Chiwere hų́•ge ‘chief’ RR

Hoocąk hų́ųk ‘chief’ KM:1617 , hųųk

Proto-Dhegiha *hą́ka RR

Omaha-Ponca nadáhąga ‘chie, war leader’ RR, MAS:34

Kanza/Kaw hą́ga ‘gens name’ RR , dodą́hąga ‘war leader’

Osage hoⁿ´ga , †hǫ́ka ‘eagle, sacred one, moiety name’ LF:65b

Quapaw totą́hąka ‘war captain’ JOD

General comment

Length and accentual pattern suggest there may have been an old initial syllable, probably the possessive *i-. The proto-DH form may have had ǫ́, but most of the evidence comes from unstressed forms where ǫ and ą have fallen together more or less completely. La Flesche’s Osage does not distinguish the two even in accented position. JGT92:28 reports that this term has the broader meaning ‘blessed one (who has been prayed/sung over)’.

This may in fact be closer to the original meaning, since it encompasses virtually all of the derived meanings.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources