Tetons

[Alan H. Hartley]

Hello Yann,

> As far as I know, there is no connection between French 'teton' (teat,
> coll. from 'teter' to suck) and the Sioux subgroup. The excellent
> 'Lakota Warrior' by Joseph White Bull (Univ. of Nebraska Press) states
> that (introduction by James Howard) Tetons (meaning 'plain dwellers')
> are one of the 7 bands making up the Dakota Nation.

You're right:

Teton < Fr. Tinthonha (and variants) or directly from its etymon, Lakota
títuNwaN (t's are aspirated) < thí (of uncertain meaning, but perhaps tí
'house', or a contraction of tíNta 'prairie/plain') + -tuNwaN 'those who
inhabit' (Hdbk. N. Amer. Indians XVII. (1996) 481/2 and S. R. RIGGS
Dakota-English Dict. (1890) 478)

Incidentally, vol. XIII of HNAI (the Plains) is now available. That
leaves only the Southeast volume to complete its (amazing) areal
coverage. (Vols. VII (NW Coast) and XII (Plateau) are those of most
interest to this list.)

Alan