dootłʼizh

Navajo

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Etymology 1

di- (“color”) + -oo- (yi-perfective 3rd person subject prefix) + -d- (classifier) + -tłʼizh (neuter perfective stem of root -TŁʼIIZH, “to be blue, green”).

Verb

dootłʼizh

he/she/it is turquoise, green, blue
Łóóʼ dootłʼizh ― The (one or two) fish is/are blue.

Łóóʼ dadootłʼizh ― The (three or more) fish are blue.

Usage notes

This word is used to refer to all shades of blue or green (especially the blue), including turquoise, which is approximately halfway in between. The related term dootłʼizhii is limited to the narrow turquoise spectrum.

This is a neuter verb that only uses the perfective stem.

Conjugation

Paradigm: Neuter perfective (yi), with some irregularities.

PERFECTIVE	singular	duoplural	plural
1st person	dinishtłʼizh	diniitłʼizh	dadiniitłʼizh
2nd person	dinítłʼizh	dinohtłʼizh	dadinohtłʼizh
3rd person	dootłʼizh		dadootłʼizh
4th person	jidootłʼizh		dazhdootłʼizh
Other forms
Unspecified person	Spatial person	Passive A	Passive B
—	hodootłʼizh	—	—

Note: the forms in the 1st and 2nd persons are suppletive forms from the dini- (neuter imperfective) paradigm, but without the l-classifier and keeping the perfective stem -tłʼizh. See dinilgai, diniltso.

Derived terms

chʼil dootłʼizhí díkʼǫ́zhígíí (“lime”)
chʼilgo dootłʼizh (“plant green”)
dinooltłʼizh (“light blue, light green”)
dootłʼizhii (“turquoise”)
dzidzé łikaní dootłʼizhígíí (“blueberry”)
łóóʼ hashkéhé dootłʼizhígíí (“blue shark”)
mágí bíchį́į́h dootłʼizhígíí (“mandrill”)
naadą́ą́ʼ dootłʼizhí (“gruel”)

naalʼeełí bitsiiʼ dootłʼizhí (“mallard”)
nahachagii dootłʼizhí (“katydid”)
níłchʼi dootłʼizhí (“argon”)
tátłʼidgo dootłʼizh (“algae green”)
tóidoozohii dootłʼizhígíí (“swamphen”)
tsé dootłʼizh (“olivine, peridot”)
tséʼédǫ́ʼii dootłʼizhí (“blowfly”)
yágo dootłʼizh (“sky blue”)

Etymology 2

The use of dootłʼizh (green) to refer to the dime coin comes from the green color of the fractional currency note for this denomination during the Civil War.

Noun