wetu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Massachusett wetu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwi.tu/

Noun

wetu (plural wetus or wetu)

1. (US) A dwelling, a domed hut similar to a wigwam, used by some Native Americans in the northeastern United States, especially the Wampanoag.
   • 2001, Donald M. Silver, Patricia J. Wynne, The Pilgrims, the Mayflower & more; grades 1-3, page 17:

     Wetus ranged in size between about 10 to 15 feet in diameter. As many as ten people lived inside.

   • 2003, Janet Riehecky, The Wampanoag: The People of the First Light, page 13:

     To make a wetu, the Wampanoag set poles made from cedar saplings into the ground. They bent the poles over and covered them with cattail reeds or bark. A wetu was either circular or oval. Most wetu were about 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 meters) […]

   • 2005, Janey Levy, The Wampanoag of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, page 22:

     Wetus were commonly about 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and 14 to 20 feet (4.3 to 6.1 m) long. Sometimes three or four families shared a single house. These wetus could be up to 100 feet (30.4 m) long and 30 feet (9.1 m) wide.

   • 2008, Frances H. Kennedy, American Indian Places: A Historical Guidebook, page 31:

     In one corner of the village a man is emerging from a sweat-house; in the village's center a child sleeps in a wetu while a little boy on the roof hides from his dog, their only domesticated animal. A woman in mourning speaks to the sachem.

See also

• traditional Native American dwellings:
  • hogan (used by the Navajo in the southwestern United States)
  • igloo (used by the Inuit, made of snow)
  • teepee (used in the Great Plains)
  • tupik (used by the Inuit during the summer)
  • wetu (used by the Wampanoag in the northeastern United States)
  • wickiup (used in the southwestern and western United States)
  • wigwam (used in the northeastern United States)

Massachusett

Pronunciation

• (Revived) IPA^(key): /ˈwiːˈtʲuː/

Noun

wetu

1. dwelling

Descendants

• → English: wetu

Narragansett

Etymology

The word wetu has the form of a third-person verb; compare *wek and see the footnote for more. Both are likely ultimately related to Proto-Algonquian *wi·kiwa·ʔmi, and hence English wigwam. Compare Massachusett wétu (“house”), wetuomash (“houses”).

Noun

wêtu inan

1. house

   Synonym: *wek

Declension

Declension of wetu (inanimate, 3 forms attested)

	singular	plural	locative
unpossessed	*-etu	*-etu-omash	*-etu-omuck
possessed forms
first-person (my)	*netu	*netu-omash	*netu-omuck
second-person (your)	*ketu	*ketu-omash	*ketu-omuck
third-person (his, her)	wêtu	*wetu-omash	wetuômuck wetuómuck

Related terms

• wetuomémese
• Wetuómanit
• *wek

Further reading

• Roger Williams (1643) A Key into the Language of America, London: Gregory Dexter, →OCLC, pages 3, 31, 179
• F. O'Brien & J. Jennings (2001) Introduction to the Narragansett Language‎^[1], Newport: Aquidneck Indian Council, →LCCN, page 89

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛ.tu/
• Rhymes: -ɛtu
• Syllabification: we‧tu

Noun

wetu

1. dative singular of weto

Swahili

Adjective

wetu

1. M class inflected form of -etu.
2. U class inflected form of -etu.
3. Wa class inflected form of -etu.