Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/meʔtekwa·pyi

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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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Etymology

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A compound of *meʔtekwi (stick) or *meʔtekwa (tree) + *-a·py (string).

Bows probably postdate the breakup of Proto-Algonquian proper; this compound seems to have been formed at a later date (as is also suggested by its absence from Eastern Algonquian).[1]

Noun

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*meʔtekwa·pyi (plural *meʔtekwa·pye·ri)

  1. bow (bowstring) (weapon)

Synonyms

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Descendants

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  • Plains Algonquian:
    • Arapaho: beeté yook (bowstring)
    • Cheyenne: ma'tāno (bowstring) (from the plural)
  • Central Algonquian:

References

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  • Ives Goddard (1974)
  • Northeast Anthropology, issues 46-50 (1993), page 6:
    The existence of cognate terms for bow and arrow has been noted previously. Siebert (1975:319) cited only one instance of the Proto-Algonquian "bow" word, *aʔta·pya (literally, 'string set in place'), in Central Algonquian languages, namely Cree ahča·piy (or ašča·piy in the Montagnais dialect). [] The more common term in Central Algonquian languages is derived from 'wood' or 'stick' (e.g., Menominee meqteks Ojibwa mettikwap, and Fox mehtekwapi); Goddard (1974) reconstructs Proto- Algonquian *meʔtekwa·pyi "bowstring".
  • Costa, David J. (2003) The Miami-Illinois Language (Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN
  • Ives Goddard, Pre-Cheyenne *y, in In Honor of Mary Haas: From the Haas Festival Conference, page 349
  • Marc Picard, Principles and Methods in Historical Phonology: From Proto-Algonkian to Arapaho
  1. ^ See e.g. Costa's arguments here.