Misere (Re: Linguistic term needed)

[Michael Mccafferty]

On Mon, 12 Apr 2004, Koontz John E wrote:

> On Mon, 12 Apr 2004, Michael Mccafferty wrote:
> > Right. There were no monks. David Costa explains this ethnonym is
> > "Miami-Illinois Tribe Names," Proceedings of the Thirty-first Algonquian
> > Conference (2000): 30-53.
> >
> > The Miami-Illinois term is /mooyiinkweena/ [mooyiingweena].
> > |mooyi-iinkwee-na| 'shit'-'face'-independent animate indefinite actor
> > suffix.
>
> > In a paper of mine on the place name "Missouri," published last year by
> > the onomastic journal Names, I present a short history of the ethnonym
> > /mooyiinkweena/. ("On the birthday and etymology of the place name
> > Missouri," Names 51.2 (2003), 31-45.
>
> Well, Michael, what do you think about the plausibility of
> Mis<grave-e>re/Misera as nicknames for Ste. Genevi<grave-e>ve being
> paranomasia(dic?)  (paranomadic?) for Missouri/Misuri?

Looks--and better, sounds--very promising. Quite plausible.


 I realize St(e).
> Genevieve is further from the mouth of the Missouri than St. Louis, but I
> have the impression Missouri was used a territorial name for the
> trans-Mississippi (from your point of view), while Illinois (Ylineses) was
> used for the cis-Mississippi.  (Surely Ste. Genevieve des Missouris would
> be too good for anyone to pass up?  And if they failed to pass it up too
> many times in a row, they'd have to move to St. Louis.)  Ste. Genevieve
> was *the* settlement in the trans-Mississippi or Missouri opposite
> Illinois for a while until Laclede refused to trust his merchanidise to a
> site that was flooded annually and established himself at St. Louis
> instead.
>
> I should mention that I've suggested and Michael has rejected the
> possibility that Pain Court might be a similiar handling of a compound
> like Pez-Caos (Peoria-Cahokia),

The spoiler, c'est moi.


 both groups being near St. Louis at its
> founding, with the Peoria later absorbing the Cahokia, but I'm not sure
> the resemblance is all that close (less than Misere - Missouri even) and

> Michael points out that there don't seem to be other examples hyphenated
> names like this.

Actually, I'm pretty sure Dave noted that. But I would support him.


  Also, the Peoria were rather diffusely settled in a
> number of places, including Kaskaskia, and seem to have moved quite a bit
> and Cao is already associated with another settlement.  Note that Cahokia
> (or Cao) was the settlement in Illinois more or less opposite St. Louis or
> Pain Court, while Kaskasia (Kas or aux Kas or Oka) was more or less
> opposite Ste. Genevieve or Misere.
>
> I haven't quite given up on just Pez as a source for Pain, with Court
> making the joke, but I know of no attestation Pez = St. Louis.


I still like the /piikoor-/ 'muddy boat' theory. The sound of that sounds
so much like 'pain court'.

Michael