owl (2)

noun animal_bird

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *hį́•rhą

Proto-Dakota *hįhą́

Lakota hįhą́ ‘owl’ RTC

Stoney hįhą́ PAS

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere *hį́•ta’ (?)

Chiwere hį́da ‘owl’ JGT

Hoocąk hįįhą́hą ‘short-eared owl’ KM:1144 , hįįhąhą ‘duck species?; great horned owl?’ , hįįǰą́ , hįįją

Proto-Dhegiha *į́thą

Omaha-Ponca iⁿ´chuⁿçuⁿ , †į́čhǫ ‘snowy owl’ F&LF:105

Kanza/Kaw íkhą ‘owl’ RR

Osage íthą ~ íkhą ‘owl’ RR

Quapaw †į́thą ‘owl, nighthawk’ JOD

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo

Biloxi txitû´mi hayí , †txitúmi hayí ‘horned owl’ D&S:277a

General comment

Loss of DH h- is unexpected. Hoocąk hįįǰą́ exists but seems related to wįįǰą́ ‘goose’. It refers to a species of duck (wood duck?), v. (KM:1145,3661). Wood ducks nest in holes in trees.

Homonymy between ‘owl’ and ‘wood duck’ may have forced replacement of the ‘owl’ word. ‘Short earred owl’ would have to be a borrowing from Dakotan where *rh > h. The Biloxi term may be related, but we have so few OVS sets to match the DH aspirates that the potential correspondences are not well understood yet. The accentual pattern suggests that there was an initial syllable that has been lost.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources