Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/na·pe·wa

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

Etymology

From Proto-Algic *na·pe·gʷa (“male”).

Compare *aya·pe·wa (“buck, male ruminant”).

Noun

*na·pe·wa (plural *na·pe·waki)

1. male, man

Synonyms

• *erenyiwa (“man, person”)

Derived terms

• *na·pe·θkwa (“male bear”)

Descendants

• Plains Algonquian:
  • Blackfoot: naapím (“male animal”)
• Central Algonquian:
  • Cree:
    • Naskapi: naapaaw (“man”)
    • Plains Cree: nâpêw, ᓈᐯᐤ (“man”)
  • Ojibwe: naabe (“male”)
• Eastern Algonquian:
  • Malecite-Passamaquoddy: nape- (“male”)
  • Mi'kmaq: nape- (“male”), as in nape'w (“rooster, male bird”)
  • Abenaki: nôba- (“male”)
  • Mahican: njápāŭ (“buck, male ruminant”) (or perhaps this is from *aya·pe·wa (“buck, male ruminant”))

References

• Paul Proulx, Proto-Algic IV: Nouns, in Studies in Native American Languages VII, volume 17, number 2 (1992)