frost (2)

noun natural_force_weather

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *waxé•(re)

Proto-Mississipi-Valley *xé•-wųke

Proto-Dakota *xewų́ka

Lakota xeyų́ka ‘frost’ RTC

Dakota xewą́ke , †xewą́ke ‘frost, hoar frost’ SRR:164b

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere

Chiwere xe•mą́ra ‘frost’ RR

Proto-Dhegiha *xé-wąke

Omaha-Ponca qewañge , †xewąge ‘frost’ JOD , xewoⁿge , †xewąge ‘frost’ MAS:52

Kanza/Kaw xémąge ‘frost’ RR

Osage xémoⁿge , †xémąke ‘frost, hoarfrost’ LF:218a

Quapaw xą́įke ‘frost, killing frost’ RR

Proto-Southeastern

Proto-Biloxi-Ofo *(w)axé-(re)

Biloxi xedí , †xedí D&S:220a

Ofo ashé , †ašé ‘frost’ D&S:321b , ashitoⁿ , †ašé ‘big frost’

Proto-Catawba

Catawba mǫhe• ‘ice’ KS

General comment

The MVS forms are a compound: *xé• ‘frost’ + *wųke ‘lie’, q.v. Cf. also ‘ask’ for a similar treatment of the proto sequence *wų-, cf. also ‘1st inclusive actor prefix’. The DH forms represent fossilized forms of PS *wųke ‘be lying’; verbal reflexes of *wųke are otherwise lacking throughout DH. In order to reconstruct a Proto-Dhegiha form with confidence the labial resonants should match. Koontz suggests that the w in many, if not all, of these wų stems is actually epenthetic. Presumably it would have appeared after Proto-Siouan *w > m preceding nasal vowels in many languages.

This might provide a principled reason for the lack of match in the modern correspondences. Cf. also ‘rain (2)’, ‘drip (1)’.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources