Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/264

 J > A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD. the first syllable, paibaizhik* Gauzh, from os/aizh, 'nail,' 'claw,' k homy part of the hoof ; o is used to make the two words coalesce ; the final i is that of ahwaisi, ' a beast,' and designates the name as being that of an animal ; which literally translated is ' the undivided-hoofs animal.' The names for liquid extracts, drinks, &c, are derived from abo, a word never used alone. Shominabo, ' wine,' from shomin, 'grape'; totoshnbo, 'milk,' from totosh, ' the female breast.' A numerous class of compounds is derived from jeegun, or gun 3 meaning instrument, words also never used alone. To that class belong opwagun, ' a pipe' ; sheemagun, ' a lance,' &c. And from wyan, ' a skin,' they have derived several words ; amongst others, ■ivalawyan (white skin) ' a blanket.' Another class of compound words is derived from the third person singular of the present indicative, by adding d, and changing the vocal sound of the first syllable. Neeba, ' he sleeps,' nabad, 'a sleeper'; weesini, 'he eats,' wassinid, ' an eater ' ; keegidoo, ' he speaks,' kagidood, ' a speaker.' The in- sertion of the particle shki gives those a derogative form. Na- bashkid, ' a sluggard ' ; kagidooshkid, ' a babbler ' ; wassinish- kid, ' a gormandizer.' There are many other combinatives, by which the noun, coalescing with the verb, the adjective, and the preposition, produces numerous compound expressions. Micmacs. [From Father Maynard's Manuscript Notes, obtained in Canada by the late Enoch Lincoln.] (JVbfe. The Jesuits use the character &, which we have preserved for the sound oo. We have substituted for the genders, the designa- tions animate and inanimate, instead of noble and ignoble.) In the animate gender, the past tense is generally terminated in dk or ok ; and the plural in k * or in gik.-f In the inanimate gender, the plural ends in al, el, oul, il ; the past tense in the singular ends in ek, and in the plural in Are/ or eguel. t Animate nouns ending in it, et, make the plural in gik.
 * Proper nouns make the plural in ok ; and the past plural in ik, orshnik.