[MarcSnelling]

Proto-Dakotan Swadesh list word #160.
*Manxwita-oshika, cloud.

In this reconstruction, the first element *Manxwiita is “sky” (word #162); and in the 6 languages noted below, the words for “sky” are identical to the words for “cloud”. #6-9 and 16 are clearly variants of the words for “sky” as well, and even Mandan /Har/ looks related to the Mandan word for “sky”, /Ha’akiita/.

The only evidence for a secondary element distinct from “sky” is in Yesan /Maqosii/ and Ofo /Oshiigwe/. Yesan seems to show the connection between the two, while the Ofo seems only to include the second element seen in /Maqosii/. It is only my conjecture that *-ka would have been a more archaic ending than /-gwe/, although it could easily have been quite different. This second element *-oshiika may also possibly signify ‘dark’, if it is connected with the ending -otsiiya in *Hampotsiiya, night (word #177)

1 WOCCON ?
2 CATAWBA /Numo/
3 YESAN /Maqosii/
4 OFO /Oshiigwe/
5 BILOXI /Nachii/ = sky
6 QUAPAW /Monqpii/
7 OMAHA /Maqpii/
8 KAW /Manxpu/
9 OSAGE /Monxpii/
10 HOCHAK /Manqwii/ = sky
11 CHIWERE /Maxuwe/ = sky
12 MANDAN /Har/
13 DAKOTA /Maxpiiya/ = sky
14 NAKODA /Maxpiiya/ = sky
15 HIDATSA /Apaxii/ = sky
16 CROW /Ahpaxa/

Rankin has a PS reconstruction of ‘cloud’ *Maxpu, marked “old reconstruction only” – meaning he has apparently withdrawn it in his revisions and not suggested another.

William Meuse

Proto-Dakotan Swadesh list word #161.
*Xichoti-amanxan, fog.

The word for fog in Kaw is the same as smoke – /Shojee/. The other Dhegigan words also seem to incorporate this, in particular Omaha has /Shodeemahawn/ fog, /Shudee/ smoke, /Mawninka/ earth, which gives the best sense as Smoke-earth, *Xiichotii-amanxan, the reverse of Earth-smoke (dust) or *Amanxan-xiichotii. Chiwere /Xeemana/ ‘fog’ could also come from *Xiichotii-amanxan. Some of the other terms below also may include ‘earth’ as the first element, but it is too unclear to reconstruct anything or connect any of the others with *Xiichotii-amanxan.

1 WOCCON ?
2 CATAWBA ?
3 YESAN ?
4 OFO /Abashiiska/
5 BILOXI /Ayu/
6 QUAPAW ?
7 OMAHA /Shodeemahawn/
8 KAW /Shojee/ = ‘smoke’
9 OSAGE /Iikiishodsee/
10 HOCHAK /Rujen/
11 CHIWERE /Xeemana/
12 MANDAN /Manunxtuk/
13 DAKOTA /Pho/
14 NAKODA /Pho/
15 HIDATSA /Awashii/, /Puwe/
16 CROW /Awashii/

Rankin derives #4, 15a and 16 from PS *Awanshi ‘fog’, and #13, 14, 15b from *P’ohe, ‘fog, smoke’.
The *Awanshi type words could come from a borrowing from some Algonquian dialect word for fog; cf Miami /Eewangii/, Menominee /Ewan/, Pequot /Awan/, Lenape /A’on/, Mohican /Awen/, Ojibwe /Ewen/, Potawotamie /Winsii/, all meaning ‘fog’.

William Meuse

Proto-Dakotan Swadesh list word #162.
*Manxwita, sky.

As noted at *Manxwiita-oshiika “cloud”, the words are the same for “sky” and “cloud” in 6 languages. Ofo uses the same word as ‘star’ to mean sky, the Catawba for ‘star’ also seems to incorporate ‘sky’.
The remaining words for ‘sky’ are /Manton’/, /Monghee/, /Monxee/, /Ha’akiita/, and /Awaxa/, since the other words meaning ‘cloud’ are also related, taken altogether it looks like “sky” (also possibly “heavens”) was originally *Manxwiita.

1 WOCCON ?
2 CATAWBA /Wepit/
3 YESAN /Manton’/
4 OFO /Ontaske/ = star
5 BILOXI /Nachii/ = cloud
6 QUAPAW ?
7 OMAHA ?
8 KAW /Monghee/
9 OSAGE /Monxee/
10 HOCHAK /Manqwii/ = cloud
11 CHIWERE /Maxuwe/ = cloud
12 MANDAN /Ha’akiita/
13 DAKOTA /Maxpiiya/ = cloud
14 NAKODA /Maxpiiya/ = cloud
15 HIDATSA /Apaxii/ = cloud
16 CROW /Awaxa/

Rankin mentions only #9, 10, 13-16 along with the Yesan and Ofo words for ‘cloud’ (/Maqosii/, /Oshiigwe/) as evidence for PS *Wanxi “sky”.

William Meuse

Proto-Dakotan Swadesh list word #163.
*Amanxan-tachontsii, wind.

Many of these seem to go back to *Tachontsii, but Hochak looks like it kept a longer form with “earth” from *Amanxan, hence I am supposing there was an original *Amanxan-tachontsii. I don’t know what the *Tachontsii part might mean in this sense, something like “breath” perhaps.

1 WOCCON /Yunkor/
2 CATAWBA /Hiye/
3 YESAN /Mamiinkle/
4 OFO /Ashusee/
5 BILOXI /Xuxwe/
6 QUAPAW /Tatiiyonhee/
7 OMAHA /Tadee/
8 KAW /Tajee/
9 OSAGE /Tadsee/
10 HOCHAK /Mayntejewehii/
11 CHIWERE /Taje/
12 MANDAN /Shee’/
13 DAKOTA /Thatee/
14 NAKODA /Tadee/
15 HIDATSA /Hutsii/
16 CROW /Huchii/

Rankin derives #4, 5, 12, 15, 16 from PS *Se or *Xe ‘wind’; and #6-11, 13-14 from PMV *Htate (with PS *Tate marked as ‘old reconstruction’)

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