shooting instrumental

instrumental prefix physical_artefact_tool_weapon

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *Wo•-

Proto-Dakota *Wo-

Lakota wo- ‘by shooting, poking, blowing’ RTC

Dakota bo- ‘by shooting, poking, blowing’ SRR:73a

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *po•-

Chiwere bo•- ‘by shooting, poking, blowing’ RR

Hoocąk boo- ‘by shooting, poking, blowing’ KM , boo-

Proto-Dhegiha *Wó-

Omaha-Ponca mó- ‘by shooting, poking, blowing’ RR

Kanza/Kaw bó- ‘by shooting, poking, blowing (pronouns precede if locative, follow otherwise)’ RR

Osage bó- , †po- ‘by shooting, poking, blowing’ LF:27b

Quapaw pó- ‘by shooting, poking, blowing’ RR

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo *apúx-

Biloxi apúx hoⁿní , †apúx ‘blowgun, use a blowgun’ D&S:249b

Ofo pû´suhi , †púsuhi ‘to blow’ D&S:328b

Proto-Tutelo-Saponi

Tutelo opataⁿsel , †opatąsel ‘shoot off’ H

Proto-Catawba

Catawba pu•- ‘blow’ FS, KS , pu•su•ʔ ‘shoot with blowgun’ FS

General comment

Cf. ‘wound’, ‘blow (2)’, ‘press, instrumental’. The OVS forms are only very doubtfully related. They are perhaps related only via the universal pu/o- ‘blow, puff’ symbolism. This prefix may be compounded of *pa- or *Wa- ‘by pushing or cutting’ plus verb stems that already had the *o- ‘into’ locative. Vowel length in Chiwere/Hoocąk supports this, as does the Tutelo form. The Ofo and Catawba forms here are only one pair out of numerous in which there is close similarity between OVS and Catawba languages.

Other languages

  • Cf. PUA *mu- ‘shoot’, Miller #373. The gloss of Miller’s can’t be right as PUA must have been dealing with atlatls too. ‘throw’ maybe. RR
Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources