339 terms start with “a”

á-

Function:

Individuated object. Inflects certain verbal prefixes (e.g., compare causatives: individuative šapá- with distributive šáp-).

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[NP /é-/.]

-a

Function:

Archaic directional. Forms verb.

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See -na.

á-

Function:

Obviative pronominal. The allomorph áw- occurs before vowels. Attach to the beginning of a verb.

Examples:

  1. Possessor of subject in intransitive clauses:
    1. ana kú áwat̓ix̣ana ‘when his would cook’;
    2. ku aw kú ápinawšuwana káła ‘and then his grandmother got herself ready’;
    3. k̓ʷáy áwa paamíin táwyanaykt ‘that was their dwelling’;
    4. ku áwiyatk̓uka sc̓atmí ‘and theirs was midnight’;
    5. ku áwiyanawiya x̣áy tiskayayanmí X̣ʷaamayáy ‘and Skunk’s friend Eagle arrived’;
    6. čí áwa tananmaamí tkʷátat ‘this is the Indian’s food’.
  2. Direct object in transitive and ditransitive clauses (when subject is 1st or 2nd person):
    1. álaaknayišnaš waníčt ‘I have forgotten his name’;
    2. áwišnaaš útpas ‘I won the blanket from them’;
    3. ana kú tk̓ʷíikʷ ásapsik̓ʷata naamí sɨ́nwit ‘when we teach them our language correctly’;
    4. čáwnam mún miyánašna áwawyata ‘you never should whip a child’;
    5. anam kú átalax̣itkta miyánašmaaman ‘when you discipline the children’.

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[NW á-/áw- serves a broader obviative function; NP /ˀe-/; /ˀew-/ before /ˀR/ (R = Resonant).]

-a

Vocative. túta ‘father!’; íła ‘mother!’; tɨ́ta ‘child!’. [NE -aˀ (senior vocative); -a (junior vocative); NP /-eˀ/ (senior vocative); /-e/ (junior vocative).]

-a

Function:

Archaic indicative frozen in various suffixes. Forms verb.

Examples:

-aša ‘on, upon’;

-ata ‘go for a purpose’;

-awa (directive);

-ayi (applicative);

-ničanwi ‘down’;

-ničapa ‘in or into brush’;

-ničaša ‘on, upon’;

níyawštayma ‘reciprocate with money to one who is receiving a name and from whom a gift has been received’.

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[NP /-e/.]

-a

Function:

Present perfect.

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NW Sahaptin. Suffixes to in and un verbs (Umatilla simply lengthens the in and un in the present perfect). See Table 18.

áš

Go in, enter. ášɨm ‘come in!’; áwnam ášta ‘you may go in now’; áw paˀášɨn ‘they have gone in now’; ku aw kú máal áša ‘and then he went in for a while’; ku čáw šín ášta ‘and nobody will enter’; nɨwítkni pawá awínšma ku pawá tílaakima wákacalkni ana kú paˀášɨnx̣a k̓ʷáalkyaw ‘the men are on the right and the women are on the left when they go in to the longhouse’; čáwnam mún ášta kʷná ‘you will never enter there’; x̣ʷiyáytšpa ášɨn ‘he has gone in the sweathouse’; ášapaˀašɨnk ‘let him go in!’; ku čáw šín ášta ‘and nobody will enter’; wáaˀašɨm ‘come in for a while!’; twáˀaš ‘go in from the rain’; ášawa ‘go in to, visit’; yáˀaš ‘flow in’; mɨšyúpa paˀašłá ‘earwig’ (Hunn 1990:313). [NP /ˀác/.]

ãˀ

Don’t, don’t want, leave me alone. Pronounced [ˀæ̃ˀ] (with nasalization), also [ˀmˀ].

áˀa

Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos. aˀanmí úšaytš ‘crow’s socks, big snowflakes’. [NP ˀáˀa /ˀaˀa/.]

aˀáˀ

Watch out!

áˀami

February. áˀami úšaytš ‘March’. [NP /ˀalatam̓ál/; cf. ˀaˀánm ˀicuˀyéeks ‘crow’s socks’ (“big flakes of snow that fall in late winter or March” – Aoki 1994:983).]

áčaš

Eye. áčaš ilɨ́mq̓iša pt̓ínits ‘the girl is closing her eyes’; spilyaynmí áčaš ‘buttercup, Ranunculus occidentalis; contact lenses’; šušaynšmí áčaš ~ nusuxmí áčaš ‘Munro’s or whitestem globemallow (Sphaeralcea munroana)’; kaluxmí áčaš ‘evening-primrose (Oenothera pallida)’. [Y áčaaš; NP /slu/; áčaš is probably PS *hék ‘see’ (cf. NP /hekn/ ‘see’) plus purpose nominalizer *-eš; cf. NP hekín̓es (/hekn-ˀes/) ‘in order to see, for seeing’.]

aałá

Claw. Jacobs 1929:178:21 See aasá.

ášam

Wife. ášam ‘wife!’; ínmašam ‘my wife’; ímašam ‘your wife’; ášam ‘(his) wife’; ášam áwiyanawi ‘his wife has arrived’; išánaša ášaapa ‘he’s jealous of his wife’; k̓ʷáy áwa ašammí ‘that is his wife’s’; áƛ̓iyawiya winšmí pɨnašaamí x̣ɨ́tway ‘the man’s wife’s friend died’; ášamin ‘married (of a man), married couple’. [NP /ˀwépne/.]

ašampat̓ałá

Wife wanter, one who loves his wife; adulterer.

áana

Oh! áana, áwna wá čɨ́mti čáynač ‘oh, we have a new son-in-law’.

ačašpamá

Eye glasses. išnáwiša ačašpamá ‘he is looking for his glasses’. [NP kicúuynim sílu.]

aasá

Nail, fingernail, toenail; claw (of birds, bear). yakanmí aasá ‘bear claw’; aałá ‘a big old claw’. [NP /ˀese/.]

-aaš

Source, place, tree, bush, patch, source for berries. ililmúkaaš ‘dwarf huckleberry bush’; kkúušaaš ‘hazelnut tree’; mɨt̓ɨ́paaš ‘elderberry tree’; níitaaš ‘house site’; pínušaš ‘gooseberry bush’; sáxataaš ‘raspberry bush’; wiwnúwaaš ‘huckleberry bush’. See also -aašu, -šway. [NP /-nwees/.]

aat

Oh! aat pamáan ‘oh this is frustrating!’; aat yáyš ‘very bad!’.