salt (1)

noun physical_substance

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *mnį•-skú•(-re)

Proto-Dakota *mniskúya

Lakota mniskúya ‘salt’ RTC

Sioux Valley mniskúya ‘salt’ PAS

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *nį•skú

Chiwere ñį•hkú, ñíhku ‘salt’ RR

Hoocąk nįįsgú ‘salt, be salty’ KM:2344 , nįįsgu

Proto-Dhegiha *nįskǘ•-e RR

Omaha nįskí•re ‘salt’ RR

Ponca niskí•ðe ‘salt’ RR

Kanza/Kaw nįskǘ•we ‘salt’ RR

Osage nįskǘe ‘salt’ RR

Quapaw niskíde ‘salt’ RR

General comment

A compound of ‘water’ and ‘sweet (1)’, q.v. ‘sweet (1)’ may be too narrow a translation here, but it is the unmarked rendering of the term in all of the languages. Muskogean: Creek-Seminole and Hitchiti-Mikasuki derive ‘salt’ from ‘water’ and ‘sweet’. Cherokee ama ‘water’ and ‘salt’.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources