sapolil

[Alan H. Hartley]

If you all get tired of Lewis-and-Clark questions, just cry uncle. I'm
trying to finish up a lexicon of the expedition, and I have trouble
knowing when to stop!

Sapolil, which occurs in CJ in the senses 'wheat, grain, flour, bread',
apparently originally meant 'root-cake'. Sapil [barred i with acute; sic
with only one ell] occurs in Sahaptin (Hunn _Nch'i-Wana_ p. 99) in that
sense. Is Moulton, in his footnote to the first passage below, correct
in deriving the word from Chinookan a-sablal [second a acute] 'bread'
and if so, which Chinookan language is the source? Is the Sahaptin word
thus a loan from CJ, or might the etymon actually be Sahaptian? Moulton
also says "the term in Chinook Jargon is saplil [i-acute]". (I presume
he is incorrect in identifying cha-pel-el as the cous plant, Lomatium
cous, rather than as the bread made from it.)

those beed the[y] trafick with Indians Still higher up this river for
roabs, Skins, cha-pel-el bread, beargrass &c. [1 Nov 05  WC  5.371]

for these [European trade goods] they receive..from the natives..a kind
of buisquit, which the natives make of roots called by them shapelell.
[9 Jan 06  ML  6.187]

purchased Some wood and 4 dogs & Shapillele..the party purchased a great
quantity of Chapellell and Some berries [22 Apr 06  WC  7.158]

Thanks,

Alan