raccoon

noun animal_mammal

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *wi-he(-ka)

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *wihká

Proto-Dakota wičhá

Lakota wičhá ‘raccoon’ RTC

Dakota wićá ‘raccoon’ SRR:565a

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere

Chiwere mįkhé ‘raccoon’ RR

Hoocąk waké ‘raccoon’ KM:3351 , wake

Proto-Dhegiha *mihká

Omaha-Ponca mikká ‘raccoon’ RR

Kanza/Kaw mikká ~ mįkká ‘raccoon’ RR

Osage mįhka ‘raccoon’ RR

Quapaw mikka ‘raccoon’ RR

Proto-Southeastern *wihá•

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo

Ofo iyá ‘raccoon’ D&S:325a

Proto-Tutelo-Saponi

Tutelo wihá-’ , †wihá• ‘raccoon’ HW , miḳa , †wihá• ‘raccoon’ HW

General comment

Ofo apparently has lost the h and an epenthetic y appears in its place, cf. ‘berry, grape’ for a parallel case. MVS -ka is presumably suffixal, i.e. *wįh-ká, but nasalization and the treatment of á• are still unexplained. In this regard however, cf. ‘raw’. Hoocąk presumably has reformulated a term similar to that in Chiwere, cf. ‘rabbit’. A non-cognate Biloxi form may have spread areally. Compare Biloxi atukạ́ ~ atŭkí < *watuka/i with Creek wó•tka ‘raccoon’ (other Muskogean is distinct). Tutelo mika could be the inherited form plus ka, as found elsewhere, or could be a borrowing.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources