Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/e·hsa

This Proto-Algonquian 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-Algonquian

Noun

*e·hsa

1. shell; mollusc/mollusk

Descendants

• Central Algonquian:
  • Cree: êsa / ᐁᓴ (esa, “clam shell, sea shell”)
  • Moose Cree: ᐁᐢ (ês)
  • Montagnais: esh (“mollusk, shell”)
  • Naskapi: ᐊᔅ (as)
  • Ojibwe: es (“clam; shell”)
  • Fox: êthîha (“shell; shellfish”)
  • Miami: eehsa
• Eastern Algonquian:
  • Mohegan-Pequot: ayáhs (“seashell, shell”)
  • Unami: èhës (“clam; clamshell”)
  • Malecite-Passamaquoddy: ess (“clam”)
  • Mi'kmaq: e's (“clam”)
  • Penobscot: ess (“clam, bivalve shell, mollusk”)

References

• Costa, David J. (2003) The Miami-Illinois Language (Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN
• Berman, Howard (1992) “A Restriction on the Shape of Proto-Algonquian Nouns”, in International Journal of American Linguistics, volume 58, number 3, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, →JSTOR