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łį́į́ʼ

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Navajo Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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Of the extant senses, pet is oldest; the original meaning, retained in Athabaskan cognates, was dog.[1] Upon the reintroduction of the horse to North America, the Navajo language transferred the usage of łį́į́ʼ to the horse (which became the new favored "pet" in Navajo culture), with the dog being referred to by a derived term, łééchąąʼí (literally shit pet), i.e. pet which eats excrement. Compare Dogrib tłı̨ (dog).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɬĩ́ːʔ/
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Noun

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łį́į́ʼ (compound łéʼé-, łéé-, łį́į́ʼ-, possessed form bilį́į́ʼ)

  1. pet
  2. livestock
  3. horse
  4. car

Inflection

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Possessives of łį́į́ʼ
singular duoplural plural
1st person shilį́į́ʼ nihilį́į́ʼ danihilį́į́ʼ
2nd person nilį́į́ʼ nihilį́į́ʼ danihilį́į́ʼ
3rd person bilį́į́ʼ
4th person (3o) yilį́į́ʼ
4th person (3a) halį́į́ʼ
Indefinite (3i) alį́į́ʼ

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Sapir, Internal Linguistic Evidence Suggestive of the Northern Origin of the Navaho [1], p. 227

Western Apache

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Noun

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łį́į́ʼ

  1. horse

See also

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