etymol. of Minneconjou

[Bruce Ingham]

I think the form of it with the -w- in mni-khan-w-ozhu is showing a -w- glide
between ikhan and ozhu.  It is also seen as mnikhaNozhu.  Such
medial -ys- and -ws- do come and go as in wakhaNyezha and
wakhaNhezha 'child', ithayanuNk, ithahanunk, ithaanunk 'from both
sides'.


Bruce

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Subject:        	Re: etymol. of Minneconjou



Alan Hartley wrote:

> The Hdbk. N. Amer. Indians XVII (1996) 479 has the following etymology:
>
> Lakota mnikhowozhu 'those who plant by water'
>
> Would someone be so kind as to analyze it for me. (mni 'water' and wozhu
> 'plant' seem clear, but the middle of the word less so.)


In her Dakota Texts Deloria uses the form MnikhaN'wozhu (story n. 50.
paragraph 1). From this form the etymology is perhaps clearer: mni' 'water'
+ ikhaN' 'near to' + wozhu.
The form Mnikho'wozhu either originates in the above or it could perhaps be
from mni' 'water' + ikhaN' 'near to' + owo'zhu. I am not wure though whether
owo'zhu can be used as a verb meaning 'to plant things into'.

Jan Ullrich



Dr. Bruce Ingham
Reader in Arabic Linguistic Studies
SOAS