Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/maθkwa

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This Proto-Algonquian entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Algonquian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Algic [Term?]; probably cognate to Wiyot bókw (black bear (Ursus americanus)).

Guillaume Jacques speculates that Proto-Siouan *wątxó is a borrowing of this word, either from Proto-Algonquian per se or from a predecessor of it (Proto-Algic). (Note that "Proto-Siouan did not have a contrast between oral and nasal consonants: *wą was realised [as] *[mã]."[1]) Compare Mandan wątóʔ (bear), Lakota matȟó, mątȟó (bear), Chiwere mąthó (grizzly bear), Winnebago mąčó (grizzly bear), Omaha-Ponca mąčhó (grizzly bear), Kansa mičhó (polar bear), Osage mįchó (grizzly bear), Quapaw mąthó/mąčhó (grizzly bear).[1] The apparent oddity of Siouan (which is now concentrated in the west) borrowing a term for a western animal from Algonquian (now concentrated in the east) is explained by the location of the languages at the time of the borrowing; the Proto-Siouan Urheimat was in the east, while the Proto-Algic Urheimat was in the west.[1]

Noun

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*maθkwa

  1. bear
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Descendants

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  • Plains Algonquian:
    • Arapaho: woxᵘ/wox (bear)
    • Gros Ventre: was (bear)
  • Central Algonquian:
    • Eastern Great Lakes:
      • Algonquin: makwa (bear)
      • Miami: mahkwa (bear)
      • Ojibwe: makwa (bear, black bear (Ursus americanus))
      • Ottawa: mko (bear, black bear (Ursus americanus))
    • Shawnee: m'kwa
    • Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi:
  • Eastern Algonquian:

References

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  • Siebert (1967)
  • Guillaume Jacques, A Siouan-Algonquian Wanderwort: the name of the bear (2012; Amerindia, 36)
  • Berman, Howard (1992) “A Restriction on the Shape of Proto-Algonquian Nouns”, in International Journal of American Linguistics, volume 58, number 3, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, →JSTOR
  • Rhodes, Richard A. Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary (1985)
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jacques, op. cit.