hawthorn, black

noun plant

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *wa-wóha or: *wa-wúha

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa

Hidatsa wawúa ‘haw, thorn bush’ J , mawúa

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *Wo, *Wu

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere

Hoocąk wuwu ? ‘black haw’

Proto-Dhegiha *Wo

Kanza/Kaw bo ‘black haws’ RR

Osage p̣ṵ , †po ‘black haws’ JOD

Quapaw po, bo ‘black haws’ RR

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo

Ofo áho , †áho ‘haw, black or red’ D&S:319a

General comment

Cf. ‘cranberry’. This set contains irregularities no matter how it is viewed, but it is interesting nonetheless, since it is one of rather few *W sets. We believe that *W developed when *waabsolutive’ underwent regular initial syllable syncope preceding a root with initial *w: *wa-woha > *w-woha > *Woha. ‘snow (1)’ provides a parallel example of this process. Hidatsa implies an older, pre-Hidatsa *wa-wuha. One would have to appeal to irregular vowel assimilations to account for the differing vowels in the daughter languages. Areal similarities may have played a role in the development of this root also, cf. Fox popokíminûn ‘black haw’ (perhaps borrowed from, or contaminated by, Siouan) Smith 1928, p. 256, also Miami papakimindjakwi ‘black haw tree’ (Voegelin p.79).

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources