cover (2)

noun physical_contact_manipulation

Proto-Siouan-Catawba

Proto-Siouan *-he

Proto-Crow-Hidatsa

Hidatsa ía ‘covered; covert, obscure’ J

Pre-Mandan *ahe

Mandan áh ‘be covered’ H:54 , íʔa, íʔahe ‘skin’ H:54 , wą́rąʔa ‘bark of tree’ H:54 , šáʔhe ‘hoof’ RTC , ųkáʔhe ‘fingernail’ RTC

Proto-Mississipi-Valley

Proto-Dakota *-ha

Lakota iha ‘lid, cover’ EB:215b , óha ‘stick to, adhere to, as do feathers or paint’ EB:372a

Dakota iha ‘cover, v.’ WM:40b , ó_ha ‘stick to, adhere, as feathers’ SRR:349b

Proto-Hoocąk-Chiwere

Chiwere wírarahe ‘cover, n’ JGT:124 , arágehe ‘cover sth.’ JGT:124

Proto-Dhegiha *-hé

Kanza/Kaw áphe ‘cover over, as a lodge with skin’ MR

Quapaw ttihé ‘roof’ RR

General comment

The Hidatsa and Mandan entries, as well as the Kanza/Kaw form, suggest that the original meaning of the root was ‘cover, be covered’. Mandan and Hidatsa have reanalyzed the form as an h-final root, suggesting that it may have had a Pre-Mandan form *ahé. In Kanza/Kaw áphe ‘cover over, as a lodge with skin’ (MR) the uncommon aspirate is a reflex of earlier *wa-he ‘to place sth.’ after initial syllable syncope. Initial a- is the locative prefix, probably throughout. Dakota iha, has a different locative prefix, while Chiwere only has the verb in compounds. he is a common root of placing or putting in DH; general Siouan ahé may be nothing more than this verb with the locative prefix ‘on’, or it may be a separate etymon.

Language Cognate Phonetic Siouan Meaning Comment Sources