sycamore ? (birch, maple)

noun plant

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *(wa)-yą́• są ‘white wood/tree (?)’

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa *wirVhaci

Crow biliichí ‘willow’ GG:32, RGG:11

Hidatsa wirahaci ‘shrub willow’ J , mirahaci

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *yą-(ha)-są (?)

Proto-Dakota *čhą-há-są

Lakota caƞhásaƞ , †čhąhásą ‘sugar maple’, ‘white birch’ EB:116a

Yanktonai chaⁿhasaⁿ , †čhąhásą ‘sugar maple’

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *ną•-są

Chiwere nąθą ‘sycamore’ LWR:20

Hoocąk nąąsąk ‘sugar maple’ KM:2218 , nąąsąk

Proto-Dhegiha *žą-są

Omaha-Ponca žą są JOD, D&S:176a

Kanza/Kaw žą́są ‘sycamore’ JOD

Osage zhoⁿ çóⁿ hi , †žą są́ ‘sycamore’ LF:225a

Quapaw žǫ są ‘sycamore’ JOD

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo

Biloxi ayáⁿ saⁿháⁿ , †ayą́ sąhą́ ‘sycamore’ D&S:176a

General comment

These forms mean either ‘white tree’ or ‘white-barked tree’; such descriptive constructions are very apt to have developed independently, and we really have no way of knowing whether they are cognate or not. The Kanza/Kaw form at least has compound stress; other DH languages simply have a descriptive phrase. The Chiwere/Hoocąk and DH forms could, in principle, be contractions of the fuller Lakota form with dropping of the intervocalic -h-. If the Hidatsa is cognate, it must be a relict form; neither *ha ‘skin’, nor *są ‘white (1)’ being preserved in Hidatsa. Cf. ‘willow, Salix sp.’.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources