(O)maha

[Koontz John E]

On Tue, 23 Mar 2004, Alan Hartley wrote:
> So, did MI borrow a Dhegiha name and drop the o- in the process, by
> analogy with their various a-less ethnonyms?

I guess the answer as I understand it is, "Probably."  However, the
evidence is somewhat indirect.

> (I assume borrowing went in that direction, Siouan to Algonquian, in the
> case of the various s^ah-/sah- names.)

It's pretty clear that the *maNhaN morpheme is Siouan, albeit restricted
to Mississippi Valley south of Dakota.  It's not widely attested as a free
form, and the form umaNhaN ~ omaNhaN is rare outside of the ethnonym, but
the meanings of the root and the form omaNhaN are clear.

As far as *s^ahaN, which doesn't have any clear meaning other than 'Dakota
person(s)', I'd guess the source was Siouan, since it seems more likely
that Algonquian would have lost the nasal in borrowing the form than than
Siouan would have innovated it.