noun plant_part
Proto-Siouan-Catawba
Proto-Siouan *Vhpé•xe
Proto-Mississipi-Valley *hpéɣe
Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere
Hoocąk péex ‘gourd, bottle’ KM:2470 , peex
Proto-Dhegiha *hpéɣe
Omaha-Ponca péxe , †ppéɣe ‘gourd’ MAS:22
Kanza/Kaw ppéɣe ‘gourd rattle’ RR
Osage p̣éxe , †hpéɣe ‘gourd rattle’ LF:128a
Proto-Southeastern
Proto-Biloxi-Ofo
Ofo taphé̄su , †taphé•su ‘rattlesnake’ JSS
The Ofo form may well contain this root. The initial ta- may be the possessive root, *hta-, but Ofo t can also come from *r, and the final vowel is unaccounted for. None of the languages that normally would show reflexes of the expected initial syllable of this noun is represented in the data. Note that the putative Ofo cognate also occurs in ‘centipede’ (DS-330) and may refer to biting rather than rattling, either originally or by folk etymology. Cf. ra-phé ‘bite’ in several languages.
Presumably the connection between ‘gourd’ and ‘rattlesnake’ lies in the use of gourds for rattles.
| Language | Cognate | Phonetic Siouan | Meaning | Comment | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|