Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/-a·kw-

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

Alternative forms

• *-a·kwa (with animate ending)

Noun

*-a·kw-

1. bushy-tailed animal (fox?) (compare *wa·kwehsa)

Derived terms

• *šeka·kwa (“skunk”)
• *ka·kwa (“porcupine”)

Descendants

• Central Algonquian:
  • possibly Potawatomi ago (“porcupine”), but compare *ka·kwa
• Eastern Algonquian:
  • probably the second element of Mi'kmaq ska-akw' (“female porcupine”), but compare *ka·kwa (the first element is the expected reflex of *eθkwe·wa (“female”)

References

• Bulletin: Anthropological series, issue 78 (1967), page 21: "PA *ka·kwa 'porcupine' (Erethizon dorsatum), (PA *-a·kw- 'bushy-tailed animal')."