Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/-i·wa

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

Etymology

From the same Proto-Algic root as Wiyot wīwa-l (“his wife”).

Noun

*-i·wa

wife

Usage notes

This term was inalienable; it had to be preceded by a personal prefix, as in *ni·wa (“my wife”).

Descendants

Central Algonquian:
- Fox: nīwa
- Miami: niwiiwa (“my wife”)

References

Costa, David J. (2003) The Miami-Illinois Language (Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN
J. Blevins, A. Garrett, The rise and fall of l sandhi in California Algic (2007), citing Aubin (1975) Hewson (1993)