Nebraska

[Koontz John E]

On Wed, 21 Feb 2001, Alan H. Hartley wrote:

> Can anyone tell me exactly what Omaha bdhaska means as used in the name
> of the Platte? Does it mean 'flat' in the sense 'spreading out'? Can it
> mean 'shallow' in any of the Siouan languages? (Of course, a widely
> spreading river will generally be shallow.)

Or it could be - in fact I think it may be - Ioway-Otoe braske.  It
depends on what -ka represents in something like ne-bras-ka.  Ne is
clearly niN, which tends to suggest ka is ke.  It is, of course, very
difficult to tell.

In any event, this is always translated 'flat' in the sources.  It might
be difficult to tell this from 'shallow' or 'spreading out', but the
latter is supposed to be the sense of ubdhadha in Niobrara.

Mark Swetland is perhaps in the best position at present to find out what
other readings might be possible, or what other things could be bdhaska.

JEK