-GIZH

Navajo

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *ɢəž (“to act with a stick, to be forked”).

Cognate root found in Ahtna delggez (“it is forked”), gges (“skewer”).

Found in Navajo in a number of disparate themes related to cutting, to forked or gapped shape, to seeping/spreading, and to acting with a stick or gestures.

Also found in a base related to flashing, probably a corruption of the root -GĘSH, of similar meaning (see -KĘ́Ę́Z/-KÉÉZ for a similar situation).

Root

-GIZH

 1. to cut, to incise; to be forked, to have a gap

Theme	Category	Bases	Transitive bases (O + ł)
O + ł	motion	S cuts O yiłgéésh (∅-MOM) iiłgéésh yidiłgéésh haiłgéésh haidiiłgéésh niyiiłgéésh (nihi-, “to pieces”) neiłgizh (CONT) ↳ naʼałgizh yoołgish (PROG)
O + ∅	successive	S cuts O yiidigéésh (bidi-, reduction) yiyiigéésh (hi-, seriative) táidigéésh yigizh (CONCL) yiyiigish (SEM) ↳ iigish ↳ ádiigish (+d) aháígéésh (ahá-, “in half”)
ł	adjectival	S is forked, gapped, has a pass deeshgizh (NEUT) hałgizh ńdeeshgiizh nihodeeshgiizh
∅		S breaks, gaps out (a dam) digéésh	S breaks O yidiłgéésh

 2. to soak, to seep, to spread

Theme	Category	Bases	Unspecified (+ʼa)
si + d		S soaks, seeps shigéésh (MOM) biníshígéésh hashoogizh
si + ∅		S spreads shidigéésh (MOM) shoogish (PROG)

 3. to act with a stick or gestures

Theme	Category	Bases	Transitive bases (O + ł)
O + ∅	successive	S stirs O taneigizh (CONT)
ʼa + ∅	successive	S makes signals to P nayéʼégizh (CONT) yíʼdígish (SEM)

 4. to flash

Theme	Category	Bases	Transitive bases (O + ł)
dzi + l		S flashes jiilgéésh (MOM) jiilgish (SEM)

Stem set

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Iterative	Optative
Momentaneous	-géésh	-gizh	-gish	-gish	-géésh
Momentaneous	-gíísh	-gizh	-gish	-gish	-gíísh
Continuative	-gizh	-gizh	-gish	-gish	-gizh
Reversitative	-gish	-gizh	-gish	-gish	-gish
Semelfactive	-gish	-gish	-gish	-gish	-gish
Neuter	-gizh	-gizh	—	—	—
Neuter	—	-giizh	—	—	—

See also Appendix: Roots and stems derivation.

Synonyms

to cut:

• -CHʼIIZH
• -KʼEEʼ
• -TʼĄ́Ą́Z
• -TSIH
• -ZHÉÉʼ

action of water:

• -ʼÉÉL (wash)
• -TŁÉÉʼ (dampen)
• -TŁʼIIZH (soak)
• -TSEED / -TSIZ (sink)
• -ZHO (dampen)

Derived terms

Navajo terms belonging to the root -GIZH (cut)

aháígéésh

ałtániiłgizh

deeshgizh

digéésh

haiłgéésh

hałgizh

neiłgizh

shoogish

yiyiigish

Navajo terms belonging to the root -GIZH (soak)

biníshígéésh

hashoogizh

shigéésh

Navajo terms belonging to the root -GIZH (act with stick)

gish

honishgish

Navajo terms belonging to the root -GIZH (flash)

jiilgéésh

jiilgish

References

• Young, Robert; Morgan, William; Midgette, Sally (1992), Analytical lexicon of Navajo, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 209