Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/nekwetwi

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

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Proto-Algonquian cardinal numbers
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    Cardinal : *nekwetwi

Etymology

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From Proto-Algic *nekwet- (one), whence also Yurok kohta'r (one (straight thing)), kohtoh (one (round thing)) and Wiyot go't (one (person)), which (like Unami) lost the prefix ne-.[1] The Proto-Algic root may have been borrowed from or into Proto-Salish; see *nekwet- for more.

It has been observed that "the numbers from ‘one’ to ‘five’ all contain a semantically empty initial (root) *ny-, realized as *ne- before a consonant".[2]

Numeral

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*nekwetwi

  1. one (1)

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Abenaki: negwed- (one in a series)
  • Algonquin ningo (one (used with measures))
  • Cheyenne: no'k- (one, alone), naest- (all in one place)
  • Fox: nekoti (one)
  • Malecite-Passamaquoddy: neqt (one)
  • Massachusett: nequt (one)
  • Menominee: nekot (one)
  • Miami: ninkoti (one)
  • Mohegan-Pequot: nuqut (one)
  • Ojibwe ningo-, ningodw- (one)
  • Penobscot: nəkʷt-,nəkʷət- (one, lone)
  • Potawatomi: ngot (one)
  • Powhatan: nekut (one)
  • Quiripi: nukqútte (either) (Quiripi), naqúut (one) (Unquachog)
  • Shawnee: nekoti (one)
  • Unami: kwëti (one)
  • Munsee: ngwúti (one)

References

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  • Bloomfield (1946)
  • Siebert (1975)
  • Richard Rhodes and David Costa, The History of Algonquian Number Words
  1. ^ Proulx (1984)
  2. ^ Essays in Algonquian, Catawban, And Siouan Linguistics →ISBN, 2003), page 98: "the numbers from ‘one’ to ‘five’ all contain a semantically empty initial (root) *ny-, realized as *ne- before a consonant (PA *nye- and *ni- do not occur), and *-w-i is descriptively segmentable."