Borrowings.

[Rankin, Robert L.]

Thanks for the nice contribution, Pam.  I certainly wouldn't argue with your interpretation.  We may be dealing with another coincidence.  I can't otherwise explain why, if Choctaw and Chickasaw borrowed the word, they didn't simply replace sh with sh.  They have their own sh after all.

Bob

> Chickasaw chákka'li / chakká'li 'to be nine' (cognate to the Choctaw forms Bob cites) seems quite clearly to be a g[eminate]-grade form (i.e. ablauted aspectual form) of a verb chakali 'to be pregnant, great with child', which my Chickasaw teacher knows but regards as Choctaw.

> You might not immediately see a connection between 'nine', and 'pregnant', but a variety of languages express 'nine' as something like 'just about ready to reach (something, i.e. ten)', so I believe that these two verbs are in fact related. This suggests that the WM forms have their own etymology and thus aren't likely to be loans.
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