An Omaha-Ponca Idiom for 'awhile', 'at length'

[Koontz John E]

Also in Boas & Swanton, 1911, pp. 944:

"In addition to these terms, there is a syllable *tHe-* meaning FAR in
space or time, which is employed in an analogous manner:  *tHehaN* a long
time, *tHehaNl* 'far'."

I thought this *tHe* was interesting because I had noticed something
perhaps reminiscent of it in Omaha-Ponca just yesterday.  The
demonstrative (?) syllable in the examples below is obviously homophonous
with gaN 'so', and may be an idiomatic development of it.  The article
that follows when an article follows agrees with the article of a
preceding noun, e.g., NOUN=the gaN'=the, which may support this.

I wonder if anyone knows of a similar idiom in other Siouan languages?

90:36.3, 90:46.20, 90:297.5
 gaN'=akh(a) '(after) standing/sitting a while'
90:601.3 gaN'=ama=i=the 'they were so for some time'

90:563.2 gaN'=dhiNkhe 'was there for a while'
90:311.3 gaN'=dhaNkha 'after they (stood) [sic] awhile'
90:211.12 gaN'=miNkhe 'I have ... been sitting for some time'
90:51.10 gaN'=thaN 'he was standing awhile'

90:278.1 gaN'=dhaN 'in a curvilinear heap for some time'
90:21.8, 90:152.18, 90:141.4, 90:345.12, 90:359.9
 gaN'=the 'a (long) while; for some time; had lain [sic] there some time;
 it had stood for awhile (of a lodge)'
90:581.7 gaN'=ge=xti 'a long time'

90:265.4 gaN' maN'dhiN=bi(=ama) 'he walked for awhile (they say)'
Note that gaN + gdhiN 'to sit' and gaN + naNz^iN 'to stand' are rendered
'so' + ...

90:58.19 gaN' e'=di 'still there'
90:771.1 gaN'=adi 'now'  (intrusive -a- again)

90:396.11 gaN' gdhe'=tta 'at length will go away'