see (1)

verb perceptual_visual

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *arą́wE(-he) (?)

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa

Hidatsa árawE ‘notice’ J

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *tą́w- (?)

Proto-Dakota *tųwA´

Lakota tųwą́ ‘see, look at, sorcery power’ RTC

Dakota toŋwáŋ , †tųwą́ ‘look, see’ SRR:478a , toŋwéya , †tųwéya ‘go to see’ SRR:478a

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *tą́pe

Chiwere dą́we ‘open one’s eyes, wink’ GM

Hoocąk ǰą́ąp ‘look, sight; have eyes open’ KM:1693 , jąąp

Proto-Dhegiha *tǫ́pe

Omaha-Ponca dą́be ‘see’ RR

Kanza/Kaw dǫ́be ‘see’ RR

Osage tǫ́pe ‘see’ RR

Quapaw tǫ́we ‘see’ RR

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo *arų́hi

Biloxi dóⁿhi, doⁿhí , †dǫ́hi ‘see, look at’ D&S:184a , dóⁿdạhá; yídoⁿdạhá , †dǫ́hi ‘look at them; he saw you (pl.)’ D&S:185a

Ofo atóⁿhi, atúⁿhi , †atǫ́hi ‘see, look’ [2s ctóⁿhi]

Proto-Catawba

Catawba wi•sərα̨´re ‘watch’ KS

General comment

Biloxi dóⁿdạhá etc. suggest that the first syllable of these forms is separable from the variable elements which follow in the several languages.

This set is problematic for several reasons. (a) The stressed vowels do not match. It is possible to reconstruct *ą́ (thus matching Catawba) and derive the rounding from a following *w, or reconstruct *ų́ and explain the ą́’s, especially in Chiwere/Hoocąk, in terms of contamination from the second root (doublet?) ‘see (2)’, q.v. (b) OVS consistently shows reflexes of *r in this set whereas MVS seems to have reflexes of *t, but this verb is unique in DH (and possibly throughout MVS) in that it is the only T-stem (i.e. unaspirated) in any of the languages; the vast majority of Siouan verbs beginning with a dental stop would, and do, show an aspirated th initially. It seems possible therefore that the original consonant was indeed an *r with secondary, and irregular, development to t in MVS. Ofo and DH show parallel conjugated forms in the 2s that suggest ultimate cognacy, but at the moment the initial consonants are irreconcilable in this set. These interesting irregularities may derive from contamination between ‘see (1)’ and ‘see (2)’. We would tend to reconstruct *arą́we with secondary addition of the *-he root extension, w+h yielding p postaccentually in MVS. This last is speculative however. Riggs’ compound form shows that nasalization of the final syllable in Dakotan is secondary. Cf. ‘town (1)’ for a similar form which also argues for rounding assimilation in Dakotan.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources