gypsum or "mica"

[rlarson at unlnotes01.unl.edu]

> In a message dated 9/3/2002 1:58:48 PM Mountain Standard Time,
> John.Koontz at colorado.edu writes:
>
>> I suspect, with
>> no real evidence, that 'season' is a chance homophone, like the two
>> wac^hi in OP.
>
>
> It's interesting that awa' 'earth, land' also means 'season' in Crow.
>
> Randy

I seem to recall that our own English term "world" is
derived from old Germanic wer-ald, meaning "man-age".

I wonder if the background concept in these cases isn't
something like 'the universe of human experience, at
least on this earth and in this cycle of time'.  That
would allow semantic extensions both to the planet and
the material comprising it, and to time periods like
seasons, years or epochs.

Rory