-TSĄ́Ą́ʼ

Navajo

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *kʸan (“rain”). Possibly related to the root -TSĄĄD (“to be pregnant”).

Navajo níłtsą́ (“rain”) originates from this root. Other cognates are found in Ahtna caan (“rain”), Dena'ina kun (“rain”), Koyukon konh (“rain”) and Hupa kyangkyoh (“hailstorm”).

Root

-TSĄ́Ą́ʼ

1. raindrops fall, rain sprinkles

Theme	Category	Bases	Transitive bases (O + ł)
a + ł		rain(drop) falls bikʼiʼdiłtsįįh (MOM) nikidaʼdiłtsįʼ (DIST) niʼdiłtsįʼ / ndaʼdiłtsįʼ
ł	adjectival	there is rain, it's rainy níłtsą́ (NEUT)

Stem set

Aspect	IMP	PERF	FUT	ITER	OPT
MOM	-tsįįh	-tsą́ą́ʼ	-tsįįł	-tsįįh	-tsą́ą́ʼ
DIST	-tsįʼ	-tsą́ą́ʼ	-tsįįł	-tsįįh	-tsįʼ
NEUT	-	-tsą́	-	-	-

See also Appendix: Roots and stems derivation.

Derived terms

Navajo terms belonging to the root -TSĄ́Ą́ʼ (rain falls)