Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/-a·kw-

This Proto-Algonquian entry contains reconstructed words 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

Alternative forms

*-a·kwa (with animate ending)

Noun

*-a·kw-

bushy-tailed animal (fox?) (compare *wa·kwehsa)

Derived terms

*šeka·kwa (“skunk”)
*ka·kwa (“porcupine”)

Descendants

Central Algonquian:
- possibly Potawatomi ago (“porcupine”), but compare *ka·kwa
Eastern Algonquian:
- probably the second element of Mi'kmaq ska-akw' (“female porcupine”), but compare *ka·kwa (the first element is the expected reflex of *eθkwe·wa (“female”)

References

Bulletin: Anthropological series, issue 78 (1967), page 21: "PA *ka·kwa 'porcupine' (Erethizon dorsatum), (PA *-a·kw- 'bushy-tailed animal')."