ásaaʼ

Navajo

Etymology

Possibly Proto-Athabaskan *usa̓sakʸ, suggested to be of Eskimo-Aleut origin, compare Aleut isxatix (“grass basket”). Cognate with Chiricahua ʼísaa, Eyak ʼishXah, Tsuut'ina ʼásaʼ, Dena'ina isukʼ.

Noun

ásaaʼ (possessed form beʼésaʼ)

1. pot, dish, bowl, kettle, pan, jar
2. (music) drum

Inflection

possessives of ásaaʼ

	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	sheʼésaʼ	niheʼésaʼ	daniheʼésaʼ
2nd person	neʼésaʼ	niheʼésaʼ	daniheʼésaʼ
3rd person	beʼésaʼ
4th person (3o)	yeʼésaʼ
4th person (3a)	hweʼésaʼ

or

possessives of ásaaʼ

	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	sheʼésaaʼ	niheʼésaaʼ	daniheʼésaaʼ
2nd person	neʼésaaʼ	niheʼésaaʼ	daniheʼésaaʼ
3rd person	beʼésaaʼ
4th person (3o)	yeʼésaaʼ
4th person (3a)	hweʼésaaʼ

Derived terms

• ásaah (“into a pot”)
• ásaatsʼiil (“potsherd”)
• ásaaʼtsoh (“large pot, vase”)
• ásaaʼyázhí (“small pot, jar”)

References

• Young, Robert, Morgan, William, Midgette, Sally (1992) Analytical lexicon of Navajo, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 10