Tywappity Bottoms

[Alan Hartley]

Thanks, Michael.

> Given the date that "Ze-wa-pe-ta" was transcribed, it is most likely a
> word written down by an English speaker. Therefore, the final -a of
> "Za-wa-pe-ta" is probably /i/. As you probably know, English speakers
> commonly heard native /i/ as /e/ and then wrote the latter vowel as an a
> in keeping with the pronunciation of the first letter of the alphabet.
> This would be why "Tywappety" has a y at the end. In other words, there
> *is* a neat correspondence between, at least, the end of those two words.
>
> In this connection, the penultimate -e- in both terms is probably /i/,
> reflecting the pronunciation of E is in the English alphabet.
> So, the last three syllables of this place name are probably
> /-wa(a)pi(i)ti(i)/.

Which suggests the Algonquian 'white-rump' word for 'elk'. Shawnee
wa:piti, would be a good candidate, given their occupation of SE
Missouri at about the time Tywappity Bottoms was settled by
Euro-Americans. But, about the first syllable...

Alan