Missouri

[David Costa]

>> It's an archaic morpheme that's not attested in modern Miami, so I'm not
>> positive what it means. But it's not the basic word for 'bark'. Judging from
>> Gravier's Illinois form <8ic8essimingi> 'bouleau arbre' ('-imingi' = is a
>> morpheme meaning 'tree'), it probably means 'birch', so <8ic8es mis8ri> and
>> its alternate <8ic8essi> would actually mean 'BIRCH boat'.

> But I imagine the operative idea here is that of the BARK of the birch, not
> the birch-tree itself, so 'birchbark boat'. Cf. Ojibway wi:kwa:s 'birchbark,
> birch-tree' and wi:kwa:si-^ci:ma:n 'birchbark canoe'.

Of course. But that's in the English. My point is just that the Illinois
root <8ic8ess-> seems to mean plain 'birch'.

Dave