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*wiraman

initial (noun, animate)

ochre

Origin

PA *weraman (*welaman, Hewson, 1993)

Evidence

PC oyaman, colored paint, vermillion; oyamanask, love medicine; NEC wiyiminichī, Paint Hills, place name; WI (Pessamit) ulaman [uləmən], na red-colored canoe resin; EI (Sheshatshiu) unaman [unəmən], na ochre; Fabvre (ca. 1690) "ȣramanǐhau, n. peinturer che n.;" Silvy (ca. 1680) "ȣraman, peinture"

ANISH Cuoq (1886) "onaman, fard, vermillon;" "onamanines,i, avoir une érysipèle;" MENO ona·mon, vermilion; MIAMI alamoni, red ocher, paint, vermillion (ILDA, 2017)

Discussion

This root is inherited directly from Proto-Algonquian as a noun stem. However, the PA form may have ultimately been derived from a verb built on the root *weram. Consider the Naskapi word wiimin, "ochre," in comparison to wiimisiiu, "to be fat," built on an otherwise uncorroborated root that may point to PA *weram.


ABBREVIATIONS

Cree Dialects
PC
Plains Cree
WC
Woods Cree
WSC
Western Swampy Cree
ESC
Eastern Swampy Cree
MC
Moose Cree
AT
Atikamekw
SEC
Southern East Cree
NEC
Northern East Cree
WI
Western Innu
EI
Eastern Innu
NSK
Naskapi
Algonquian Languages
ABEN
Abenaki
ANISH
Anishinabe
MESK
Meskwaki
MIAMI
Miami
MENO
Menomini
PA
Proto-Algonquian