'snake' and 'god' terms.

[David Kaufman]

> it is also possible that it reflects retention of an old Siouan-Catawba root. The Catawba root for 'root' is -ti:. It is a dependent root (meaning it never occurs by itself), but is found in such constructions as ?yapti: 'tree root' and, more important to the current discussion, wiNti: 'medicinal root, medicine' as a compound with the older word for 'medicine', which itself is not found uncompounded in the Catawba data, wiN. >
   
  Wow, interesting!  The Biloxi words for 'root' are apparently tudi and udi (not sure if there's some semantic difference between the two), which I suppose could also possibly incorporate that -ti- root (although I'm not sure why t would change to d).  But 'tixi' meaning 'sacred (medicinal/curing) root' sounds very convincing and plausible to me, even more than the 'tea' interpretation!  
   
  Dave


BARudes at aol.com wrote:
  In a message dated 8/23/2006 7:59:33 PM Eastern Standard Time, dvklinguist2003 at yahoo.com writes:

  Just for the record, the Biloxi word(s) for 'medicine' is tixi, with another variant tyi.  Come to think of it, this may actually be the same word 'ti,' with a palatalized variant 'tyi,' if that -xi suffix on 'tixi' is really the word for 'sacred/mysterious' that also occurs in 'aNya xi' meaning chief or doctor.  Further, apparently the Chickasaw and Choctaw (?) word for 'tea' is 'tii,' of course probably a borrowing from English.  But I wonder if it was borrowed into Biloxi to mean 'medicine' since medicinal plants are often put in teas.  Then perhaps the real Biloxi translation would be 'ti xi' = 'sacred/mysterious tea' or something like that.

Perhaps the Biloxi word is borrowed from the Chickasaw or Choctaw word for 'tea', but it is also possible that it reflects retention of an old Siouan-Catawba root. The Catawba root for 'root' is -ti:. It is a dependent root (meaning it never occurs by itself), but is found in such constructions as ?yapti: 'tree root' and, more important to the current discussion, wiNti: 'medicinal root, medicine' as a compound with the older word for 'medicine', which itself is not found uncompounded in the Catawba data, wiN.

Blair 

 				
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