Reconstruction:Proto-Algonquian/-θeni

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

*-ɬeni (alternative orthography)
*-seni (alternate initial consonant)
*-θenya (*-ɬenya (alternative orthography)); *-senya
(with possessive prefixes:) *meθeni (*meɬeni), *neθenya (*neɬenya)

Etymology

From Proto-Algic *-sene, like Wiyot weser, wesen (“woman's breast”) (with the definite third-person prefix), básad (“breasts”) (/ˈbəsəd/, with the indefinite third-person prefix). As in Wiyot, this term was always possessed, e.g. as meθeni (with the third-person prefix *me-).

Noun

*-θeni

breast; nipple

Synonyms

*-no·na·kan- (“breast”)

Derived terms

meθenepi (meɬenepi) (“milk”, literally “breast-water”), whence Arapaho beθéneč (“milk”), Cheyenne matana (“milk”)

Descendants

Plains Algonquian:
- Arapaho: beten, béθen(i), baθani (“woman's breast”) (from meɬeni)
- Cheyenne: matana (“breast”) (from meɬeni)
Central Algonquian:
- Naskapi: (u)tiniiy ((u)tiniiy, “(her or his) breast”) (from weɬeni)
- Shawnee: (ni)lenya (“(my) nipple, (my) breast”) (from neɬeni)

References

Proulx (1984)
Phonological aspects of nasality: an element-based dependency approach
A Survey of Word Accentual Patterns in the Languages of the World →ISBN
David Costa, The Dialectology of Southern New England Algonquian, Papers of the 38th Algonquian Conference 81-127 (edited by H. C. Wolfart) (2007)