Cayuse <=> "horses" in Spanish?

[David Robertson]

Alan Hartley posted this back in September...Sorry to be dense, but does
this mean our best guess is that the name "Cayuse" comes ultimately from
the Spanish word "caballos"="horses", via some NAm aboriginal languages?
(Cf. William Bright's "Animals of Acculturation in the California Indian
Languages", UC Press, Berkeley, 1960.  That book shows the same loanword
from Spanish in such languages as: Pomo, Yuki, Patwin, Maidu,
Miwok...interestingly not in some of the California languages spoken closes
to Cayuse, e.g. Yurok, Shasta, Klamath.  The Yurok form incidentally
is "mulah", perhaps a loan from Spanish for "mule" but perhaps [less
likely] comparable with CJ /mulak/ 'elk'.)  --  Dave R.


>> CAYUSE                                                           OED
>> revision, etym.
>>
>> Probably ultimately from Sp. caballos ‘horses’, perhaps via Chinook
>> Jargon. The Cayuse were known for their large herds of horses,
>> acquired, probably indirectly, from Spanish speakers to the south. The
>> forms in quots. 1827, 1841, 1843 and 1899 come through an intermediate
>> interior Salishan language, the s- representing the Salishan
>> nominalizing prefix; cf. Columbian Salish (s)qayús. It has been
>> suggested that the name comes from Fr. cailloux ‘gravel’ (see quots.
>> 1829, 1846), but that explanation is unlikely.
>>
>> note: based on L. Campbell Hist. Ling. (1998) 78, and Hdbk. N. Amer.
>> Indians xii. (1998) 417/1

To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'.  To respond privately to the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'.  Hayu masi!