O/P term for one thousand

Rory M Larson rlarson at unlnotes.unl.edu
Wed Jan 18 23:43:34 UTC 2006


> Also, that we should find similar etymologies for "1000" amidst
surrounding tribes doesn't surprise me. I am reminded of the Ponca word for
"25 cents". The modern day word for "25 cents" is mi'ka tha'wa or mi'ka
itha'wa. This is said to be abbreviated from "mi'ka ha itha'wa" - to count
a raccoon hide, or what a raccoon hide is worth. If I am not mistaken, do
we not find similar etymology for "25 cents" among other Siouan languages?

> Don't know about other Siouan languages, but in Miami, nkoti eehsipana
'one raccoon' also means 'quarter dollar'.

We've got mikka'ha idha'wa, or "raccoon-skin counter", in Omaha too.  It's
nice to see that it also appears in Algonquian.  I would guess that this
was the standard price paid for raccoon skins at some prolonged or critical
period of time in the early-mid 19th century, perhaps even at a particular
trading establishment.

It would be interesting to know when, and what the areal/ethnic
distribution of this calque may have been.  David, what can you tell us
about the movement history of the Miami in the 19th century?  Did they ever
get close to the eastern Nebraska-western Iowa region?  Also, what about
other monetary terms, like 'dollar', 'half-dollar', 'dime', 'half-dime',
and 'penny'?  I wonder if these would also resemble the Omaha and Ponka
forms?

Rory



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