Reconstruction:Proto-Siouan/isá·pE

This Proto-Siouan 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-Siouan

Etymology

Compare Yuchi ʔíspi and Proto-Uto-Aztecan *sakwa (“grue”).

There were likely four or five variants for “black”, related through both fricative symbolism and vocalic ablaut, with additional complexity from analogical changes. However, most descendant languages preserve only two distinct reflexes, while Dhegiha languages preserve three (if treated as a single language).

Verb

*isá·pE

to be black

Reconstruction notes

The Proto-Ohio-Valley reflex, along with word-initial accent in many descendant languages, suggests an initial vowel, likely *i- (appearing as *a- in Tutelo). At least one variant may have contained a consonant cluster, as suggested by Pre-Mandan *spi-.

Derived terms

*wa-sápE (“black bear”)

Descendants

⇒ Proto-Crow-Hidatsa: *š(i)pí-
- Crow: shipíta
- Hidatsa: shipí-, shipísha
⇒ Pre-Mandan: *spi-
- Mandan: psíʔš (“it's black”)
Proto-Mississippi-Valley: *sápE, ⇒ *šápE
- Proto-Dakota: *sápA, ⇒ *šápa
  - Lakota: sápa
  - Dakota: sápa
  - Stoney: thaba
- Proto-Dhegiha: *sá·pe, ⇒ *šápe
  - Omaha-Ponca: sá·be
  - Kansa: sábe
  - Osage: 𐓮𐓘́𐓬𐓟
  - Quapaw: sápe
Proto-Ohio-Valley: *isápi
- Proto-Ofo-Biloxi:
  - Biloxi: sə́pi
- Proto-Tutelo-Saponi:
  - Tutelo: asə́p

References

Robert L. Rankin, Richard T. Carter, A. Wesley Jones, John E. Koontz, David S. Rood, Iren Hartmann, editors (2015), “Entry #1083”, in Comparative Siouan Dictionary‎^[1], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology