Wyandot Words for Natural Features
Hill, Mountain –ǫnǫt-
ǫnǫtaˀ hill, mountain
[on-non-tah-ah]
ǫ- feminine-zoic single patient ‘it’
–nǫt- noun root ‘hill, mountain’
-aˀ noun suffix
ekyǫnǫtateˀ where there is a hill, mountain
[eh-kyon-non-tah-teh-eh]
eky- cislocative ‘where’
-ǫ- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-nǫt- noun root ‘hill, mountain’
-a- noun suffix
-te- verb root ‘to exist’
-ˀ stative aspect
ekyǫnǫtateˀrunǫh people of where there is a mountain [Petun ancestors of the Wyandotte]
[eh-kyon-non-tah-teh-eh-roo-nonh]
eky- cislocative ‘where’
-ǫ- feminine-zoic singular patien ‘it’
-nǫt- noun root ‘hill, mountain’
-a- noun suffix
-te- verb root ‘to exist’
-ˀ stative aspect
-runǫh populative ‘people of’
kwiunǫtuyęh It is between two mountains: valley
[kwee-oo-non-too-yenh]
kwi- dualic ‘two’
-u- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-nǫt- noun root ‘hill, mountain’
-uyę- verb root ‘to fork, split in two’
-h stative aspect
ekyǫnǫtayaęreˀ where a hill slants, a hillside
[eh-kyon-non-tah-yah-en-re-eh]
eky- cislocative ‘where’
-ǫ- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-nǫt- noun root ‘hill, mountain’
-a- noun suffix
-yaęre- verb root ‘to slant’
-ˀ stative aspect
Cliff, Bank –-ˀnyǫhkar-
uˀnyǫhkaraˀ cliff, bank
[oo-oon-yonh-ka-rah-ah]
u- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-ˀnyǫhkar- noun root ‘cliff, bank’
-aˀ noun suffix
uˀnyǫhkaretsih It is a tall, steep bank or cliff.
[oo-oon-yonh-kah-reh-tseeh]
u- feminine-zoic patient ‘it’
-ˀnyǫhkar- noun root ‘cliff, bank’
-ets- verb root ‘to be long’
-ih stative aspect
Lake –ǫtar-
ǫtaraˀ lake
[on-tah-rah-ah]
ǫtar- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’ + noun root ‘lake’
-aˀ noun suffix
ǫtarižu It is a great, large lake (i.e., Ontario).
[on-tah-ree-zhoo]
ǫtar- feminine-zoic agent, ‘it’ + noun root, ‘lake’
-ižu verb root, ‘to be large, great’ + stative aspect
kǫtarateˀ It is where there is a lake.
[kon-tah-rah-theh-eh]
k- cislocative ‘where’
-ǫtar- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’ + noun root, ‘lake’
-a- noun suffix
-te- verb root, ‘to exist’
-ˀ stative aspect
yǫtaraˀyeh at, on a lake
[yon-tah-rah-ah-yeh]
y- partitive prefix
-ǫtar- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’ + noun root, ‘lake’
-aˀyeh external locative noun suffix , ‘at’ or ‘on’
yǫtareˀ It is a lake or pond.
[yon-tah-reh-eh]
y- partitive prefix
-ǫtar- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’ + noun root, ‘lake’
-e- verb root, ‘to be a body of water’
-ˀ stative aspect
Aǫtaręma She carried a pond, lake[1]
[ah-on-tah-ren-mah]
- factual prefix
-ǫtar- feminine-zoic singular agent + noun root ‘lake’
–ęma verb root ‘to carry’ + punctual aspect
River -ndaw-
yandawaˀ river
[yan-dah-wah-ah]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-aˀ noun suffix
yandawižu It is a great, large river (i.e., the Mississippi).
[yan-dah-wee-zhoo]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-ižu verb root, ‘to be large, great’ + stative aspect
Hundawahtǫt He has a river in his mouth (male Deer clan name)
[hoon-dah-wah-tont]
hu- masculine singular patient, ‘he’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-htǫt- verb root, ‘to have in one’s mouth’ + stative aspect.
yandawaˀye at the river[2]
[yan-dah-wah-ah-yeh]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-aˀye external locative noun suffix ‘at’ or ‘on’
yandawaˀyerunǫ people at the river, people of the river
[yan-dah-wah-ah-yeh-roo-non]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-aˀye external locative noun suffix ‘at’ or ‘on’
-runǫ populative suffix (i.e., ‘people of’)
kyundawędih where a river is falling, waterfall
[kyoon-dah-wen-deeh]
ky- cislocative ‘where’
-u- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-ndaw- noun root ‘river’
-ę- verb root ‘to fall’
-d- inchoative root suffix
-ih stative aspect
yandawiˀ a river is full.
[yan-dah-wee-ee]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-i- verb root, ‘to be full’
-ˀ stative aspect
skandawatiˀ other side of the river
[skan-dah-wah-tee-ee]
s- repetitive
-ka- feminine-zoic singular agent, ‘it’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-a- noun suffix
-ti- verb root, ‘to be on such a side’
-ˀ stative aspect
utendawaˀta It is at the end of the river
[oo-ten-dah-wah-ah-tah]
u- feminine-zoic singular patient, ‘it’
-te- semi-reflexive voice
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-a- noun suffix
-ˀta verb root, ‘to be at the end’ + stative aspect
utendawaˀtaseˀ It is a crooked, twisted river.
[oo-ten-dah-wah-ah-tah-she-eh]
u- feminine-zoic singular patient, ‘it’
-te- semi-reflexive
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-a- noun suffix
-ˀtase- verb root, ‘to twist, turn’
-ˀ stative aspect
hundawaterih He knows the river.
[hoon-dah-wah-teh-reeh]
hu- masculine singular patient, ‘he’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-a- noun suffix
-teri- verb root, ‘to experience, know’
-h stative aspect
undawęˀdiˀ A river falls, is falling
[oon-dah-wen-en-dee-ee]
u- feminine-zoic singular patient, ‘it’
-ndaw- noun root, ‘river’
-ę verb root, ‘to fall’
-d- inchoative root suffix
-iˀ stative aspect
Creek, Stream -kyǫm-
yakyǫmąˀ creek, stream
[yah-kyon-man-an]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-kyǫm- noun root ‘creek, stream’
-ąˀ noun suffix
Swamp -her-
yaheraˀ swamp, marsh
[yah-heh-rah-ah]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-her- noun root ‘swamp, marsh’
-aˀ noun suffix
Flooding –ǫ–
aweyǫdih There is flooding
[ah-weh-yon-deeh]
aw- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-ey- noun root ‘water’
–ǫ– verb root ‘to be in water’
-d- inchoative root suffix
-ih stative suffix
aǫdǫdih A house is flooding. Her house is flooding.
[ah-on-don-deeh]
- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-ǫd- noun root ‘place, home’
–ǫ– verb root ‘to be in water’
-ih stative suffix
Island -węd-
yawędaˀ island
[yah-wen-dah-ah]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-węd- noun root ‘island’
-aˀ noun suffix
kawęduh where an island, a projection of land, is in water
[kah-wen-dooh]
k- cislocative ‘where’
-a- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-węd- noun root ‘island’
-u- verb root ‘to be in water’
-h stative aspect
Rock -ręd-
yarędaˀ rock
[yah-ren-dah-ah]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘rock’
-ręd- noun root ‘rock
-aˀ noun suffix
urędaharęht It is a hole in rock, cave.
[oo-ren-dah-hah-reht]
u- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-ręd- noun root ‘rock’
-a- noun suffix
-haręht- verb root ‘to be a hole’ + stative aspect
Ekaręniyǫdi It is a rock that sticks out[3].
[eh-kah-ren-nee-yon-dee]
ek- cislocative prefix
-a- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-ręn- noun root ‘rock’
-iyon- verb root ‘to extend, stick out’
-di stative aspect
Stone(s), boulders -rižuht-
yarižuhtaˀ stone, boulder
[yah-ree-zhooh-tah-ah]
ya- feminine-zoic agent ‘it’
-rižuht- noun root ‘stone’
-aˀ noun suffix
yarižuhtuwanęh a big stone, big stones
[yah-ree-zhooh-too-wa-nenh]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-rižuht- noun root ‘stone’
-uwanę– verb root ‘to be large’
-h stative aspect
Gravel, Small Stones -nęstar-
yanęstaraˀ gravel, small stones
[yah-nen-stah-rah-ah]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-nęstar- noun root ‘gravel, small stones’
-aˀ noun suffix
Sand –ˀndehk-
ǫˀndehk It is sand.
[on-on-dehk]
ǫ- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
–ˀndehk verb root ‘to be sand’ + stative aspect
ǫˀndehšaˀ sand (noun)
[on-on-deh-hshah-ah]
ǫ- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
–ˀndeh- verb root ‘to be sand’
-š- nominalizer
-aˀ noun suffix
uˀndehšurih It is covered with sand.
[oo-oon-deh-shoo-reeh]
u- feminine-zoic singular patient ‘it’
-ˀndeh- verb root ‘to be sand’
-hš- nominalizer
-uri- verb root ‘to cover’
-h stative aspect
Dirt -nǫd-
yanǫdaˀ dirt
[ya-non-dah-ah]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-nǫd- noun root ‘ dirt’
-aˀ noun suffix
yanǫnęˀs Dirt falls regularly.
[yah-non-nen-ens]
ya- feminine-zoic singular agent ‘it’
-nǫn noun root ‘dirt’
–ę– verb root ‘to fall’
-ˀs inchoative root suffix + habitual aspect.
[1] This appears in the name Tarema for Mary McKee.(1838-1922).
[2] The Mohawk community on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, near Montreal, is called Kahnawake (the -k- pronounced as -g-), a cognate term, but translated as ‘at the rapids’.
[3] This is the name of a rock that was sacred to the Petun ancestors of the Wyandot in Ontario, near Collingwood.