by Dr. Frank Waabu O'Brien, Aquidneck Indian Council
· “feet” = musseetash = m’ + seet (root) + ash (w/ double consonant).
·
“my feet” = nusseetash
= n’ + seet (root) + ash (w/
double consonant).
The Body
|
Algonquian(∞ = oo as in food) |
Comment |
ankle |
|
|
arm |
|
|
armpit |
Menukque (Mass.) |
“to armholes” |
back |
Muppuskq (Mass.) |
“bare, uncovered” |
backbone |
dottaguck (Wm. Wood) |
appears to be root word for “backbone” |
belly |
|
|
blood |
|
|
body |
|
|
bone |
|
|
bosom |
p∞chenau[5] (Mass.) |
“divided in two” |
bowels |
menógkus (Mass.) |
“on the inside of the body” |
brain |
metùp (Mass.) |
related to “top” |
breast |
|
“that divided in two” |
breast, the breastbone |
nobpaw nocke(Wm. Wood) |
“the (my?) breastbone” |
cheek |
man∞nau (Mass.) |
from “he sucks” ? |
chin |
|
|
ear |
|
|
elbow |
|
|
eye |
|
|
eyebrow |
|
|
finger orfingertip |
Muppuhkukquanitch (Mass.) |
“it divides the hand” or “head of the finger” |
finger, fingernail |
|
|
finger, fingernail, “ the black of the [finger] nail” |
mocossa (Wm.Wood) |
“ the black of the nail” |
finger, forefinger |
genehuncke (Wm.Wood) |
|
finger, little |
|
|
finger, the middle |
naw naunidge (Wm.Wood) |
“ the (my ?) middle finger” |
foot |
|
|
foot, the instep |
tasseche quonuck (Wm.Wood) |
“ the instep” |
foot, the sole of the foot |
tahaseat (Wm.Wood) |
“the sole of the foot” |
genitals |
menisowhock (Wm.Wood) |
“the genitals” |
genital, male |
ukkosue pompuchaí (Mass.) |
“his hot organ” |
genitals, testes (plural?) |
wunnussuog[9] (Mass.) |
“a pair”?(“his testes”) |
hair |
|
|
hams |
siccaw quant (Wm. Wood) |
“the hams” (root?) |
hand |
Menutcheg (Mass.) |
from “takes hold of” |
hand, back of the hand |
keisseanchacke
(Wm. Wood) |
|
hand, left hand
|
menātche
menutcheg (Mass.) |
related to something about “hunting hand”
|
hand, right hand |
unninuhkōe menutcheg (Mass.) |
related to “handwhich carries” |
head |
|
|
head, forehead |
related to “which is high up”? |
|
heart |
|
|
heel |
|
|
hip |
|
|
jaw |
Muttompeuk (Mass.) |
“mouth bone” |
kidney |
mutt∞unnussog (Mass.) |
cf. “testes” inflected into m’ form |
knee |
|
|
knuckles |
gettoquun (Wm. Wood) |
cf. “thumb” |
leg |
Muhkont (Mass.) |
“that which carries, bears body” |
leg, calf of the leg |
thaw (Wm. Wood) |
“the calf of the leg” |
limb |
pompuhchaí (Mass.) |
root? |
lip |
|
|
liver |
mushquun (Mass.) |
from “red, long” |
loins |
Mussegan (Mass.) |
from “heat” |
mouth |
mutt∞n (Mass.) |
related to word for “wife”, “she talks” |
nail |
Múhkos (Mass.) |
from “sharp, hooked” |
nail, the nails |
cos (Wm. Wood) |
root? |
navel |
|
“the middle” ? |
neck |
|
|
nose |
|
|
rib |
muhpeteog (or) muhpeteag (Mass.) |
“side” |
shin bone |
Mississĭkoshk (Mass.) |
“big bone”? |
shoulder |
· mittik(or) muttugk (Mass.) · mohpegk (or) muhpeg (upper part of back) (Mass.) · mattickeis (Wm. Wood) |
· “upper part of the back” · · “the shoulders” |
shoulder blade |
tipimon ? (Mass.) |
“from my shoulder”? |
shoulder bones |
bisquant (Wm. Wood) |
“the shoulderbones” |
sides, the sides |
yaus (Wm. Wood) |
“the sides” |
skin |
|
|
skull |
muskonotip (or) mishkonóntup (Mass.) |
“bone head” |
stomach |
mupp∞chĭnau (Mass.) |
“thing divided in two” |
stool |
quenobpuuncke (Wm. Wood) |
Appears to be abstract noun withroots “long” , “sit”& “round” |
temple |
Wuttahtukq (Mass.) |
“on each side” |
thigh |
|
· · · “the (my?)thighs” |
throat |
|
· “goingdown (swallowing or motion of Adam’s apple?)” · “sticks out”? · from “breath”? · appears to be root word for “the throat” |
thumb |
|
|
toe |
|
|
toe, third toe |
noenaset (Wm. Wood) |
“the (my?)third toe |
toe, great |
|
“big thing on the foot” |
tongue |
|
|
tooth |
|
|
veins |
|
|
waist |
mohoc (Wm. Wood) |
Cf. “body” |
womb |
Ôontômuk (Mass.) |
from “egg”, “birth” ? |
wrist |
Missippuskunnicheg (Mass.) |
“the bone next to the hand” |
wristbones |
supskinge (Wm. Wood) |
“the wrist bones” |
[1] John Eliot translated the entire Bible into Natick dialect of the Massachusett (or Wampanoag) language.
[2] Inflection means a change inxe "in" thexe "the" form of a wordxe "word" toxe "to"xe "in, at, to" change meaning of word; e.g., an inflection of thexe "the" wordxe "word" mĕtah (“the heartxe "the heart (human)"xe "heart"”) is nuttah (“my heartxe "my heart"xe "heart"”) by rule given above.Roger Williams (1643, chap. VII, pp. 48-52) provides many example of inflected nouns for human body parts.
[3]Declension means inflected form for a noun or pronoun by animate/inanimate referenceor singular/plural reference; e.g., an inanimate form (declension) for plural nouns is given by thexe "the" suffix -ash such as: hussan (“stonexe "stone"”, singular) andxe "and" hussanash (“stones”, plural).
[4] Nouns ending in -onk, -onck, -uncke, -incke &c are abstract nouns (indicating a collection or classification, state of being or action or abstract ideas <justice, love, truth, strength, red stuff &c.).
[5] Words from Massachusett-Narragansett without the m’ form are presumed to be the roor word or nonstandard. As mentioned,the Wood vocabulary is more problematical but presumably conforms generally to Massachusett-Narragansett syntax.
[6] Ending –og does not mean this is the plural animate form as plural form for body parts is –ash (inanimate noun plural form).
[7] The repetition of the first syllable mo is a common feature in the Algonquian Indian languages, referred to as frequentative or reduplication (coinciding in this case with onomatopoetic). It is a way of describing or emphasizing something that is going on repeatedly or habitually. For example, momonchu (“he is always on the move”; “he is always moving”). Popowuttáhig (“drum”) is another example—emphasizing the repetition of the popow sound of a drum.Look for other examples offrequentative nouns in Vocabulary.
[8] Ending –suck does not mean this is the plural, as plural form for inanimate nouns is –ash. Is this an error in Williams?
[9] Could this be plural animate?
[10] Derived form from Roger Williams (p. 43).
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