wënsu

Unami

Etymology

Cognate with Ojibwe onzo (“he/she/it is boiling”), Munsee wúnzuw (“he/she is boiling”).

• /wën/: to boil
• /ësi/: makes word an animate verb
• /-w/ (suffix): third person suffix

Verb

wënsu anim (plural wënsuwàk, participle wënsit) (vai)

1. (animate, intransitive) he/she/it is boiling, boils

Usage notes

• refers to any animate noun, such as an animal

Related terms

• wënte (vii)
• wënsasu
• wënsëmën
• wënsao
• palishpète

References

• Rementer, Jim with Pearson, Bruce L. (2005) “wënsu”, in Leneaux, Grant, Whritenour, Raymond, editors, The Lenape Talking Dictionary, The Lenape Language Preservation Project