Dh nikka 'man, person' (Re: butterfly)

[Koontz John E]

On Wed, 29 Oct 2003, R. Rankin wrote:
> > -nikka is 'person, man' in compounds.  I don't think it
> > occurs alone in OP.
>
> Seeing /nikka/ as 'man' can be misleading.  One
> has to account for such oddities as Quapaw /ppiza
> nikka/ 'lizard' (possibly 'dry fellow', but that's
> a stretch), /ttitta nikka/ 'blue jay', and
> /z^aNnikka/ 'gnat'.  Then there's Kansa /hazu
> nikka/ 'black [long stemmed] grape', /nikkaphe/
> 'comb', /wakkuje nikka/ 'kind of lark'.

I suppose these could all be *niNh 'to live' + ka.  I don't recall if we
think 'to live, be alive' has *-h.  I was thinking of OP compounds like
nikkashiNga 'person' or nikkagahi (cf. gahige) 'chief'.