łį́į́ʼ
See also: Appendix:Variations of "lii"
Navajo
Etymology
Derived from Proto-Athabaskan *ɬəŋʸ, *ɬįˑkʼʸeˑ (“dog”).[1]
Of the extant senses, “pet” is oldest; the original meaning, retained in Athabaskan cognates, was “dog”.[2] 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”).
May be a distant cognate with Ket тип (“dog”).[3]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɬĩ́ːʔ/
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Noun
łį́į́ʼ (compound łéʼé-, łéé-, łį́į́ʼ-, possessed form bilį́į́ʼ)
Inflection
| 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
- łééchąąʼí (“dog”)
- łéʼéyázhí (“colt”)
- łį́į́ʼ bee (“horseback”)
- łį́į́ʼ bighan (“corral”)
- łį́į́ʼ bikąʼii (“gelding”)
- łį́į́ʼ bikeeʼ (“horseshoe”)
- łį́į́ʼ bikʼídahaznilgo naalgeedígíí
- łį́į́ʼ bitsísʼná (“horsefly”)
- łį́į́ʼ biyéél (“saddle”)
- łį́į́ʼ tʼáá dilkǫǫhgo naalgeedígíí
- łį́į́ʼ yáshchʼį́į́d
- łį́į́ʼkąʼii
- łį́į́ʼtsaʼii (“mare”)
- táłtłʼááh łį́į́ʼ (“seahorse”)
- tééh łį́į́ʼ (“zebra”)
- tóshjeeh binaago łį́į́ʼ náádadiilwoʼígíí
References
- ^ Leer, Jeff (1996), Comparative Athabaskan Lexicon[1], volume *ɬa-ɬə, Alaska Native Language Archive, pages 32-33
- ^ Sapir, Internal Linguistic Evidence Suggestive of the Northern Origin of the Navaho [2], p. 227
- ^ Fortescue, Michael; Vajda, Edward (2022), Mid-Holocene Language Connections between Asia and North America (Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas; 17)[3], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 314
Western Apache
Noun
łį́į́ʼ