-NIIʼ

See also: -niiʼ

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *ni̓gʸ, from pre-Proto-Athabaskan *niʼg, a root with many disparate meanings, perhaps resulting in the merger of originally distinct roots.

A first meaning involves action with the hand (squeeze, touch). Another meaning relates to the passing of an invisible or hazy entity, as an epidemic, a cold wave, a fad, a swarm, and also relates to pain, ache. A last meaning relates to mental actions as to know, to be aware, to remember.

-NIIʼ shares many stems with the roots -NÍÍʼ, -NIID, -NÍÍD, -NIʼ, -NÍ, -NIH, -NIIH ~ -LĮH and -NEʼ, each of these being themselves a conflation of several originally distinct roots with at times overlapping meanings, which makes their actual identification often speculative.

Maybe as a consequence, the themes in this root often do not behave as neatly as with other roots (classifiers, aspect, conjugations may follow irregular alternations).

Root

-NIIʼ

  1. to act with the hand

Theme Category Bases Transitive bases (O + ł)
Ø successive

S squeezes O, mixes O

  • yiʼniinííh (MOM)
iʼniinííh
a + ł motion?

S heads O off, set O free

  • yiʼíłniih (MOM)
  • yééʼíłniih
di + l motion

S touches, reaches

hodoonih (Ø-class.)
  • déesniiʼ (NEUT)
hi + Ø ?

S is traded

  • hidinííh (MOM)
  • nahaniih (CONT)

S trades O

 2. to hurt, to be painful

Theme Category Bases Transitive bases (O + ł)
di + Ø ?

S becomes painful

  • dinííh (MOM)
adinííh
hodinííh

S makes O painful

  • yidiłnííh (MOM)
hodiłnííh
di + Ø adjectival

S hurts

adiniih
hodiniih
  • hadiiniiʼ

S makes O hurt

  • yidiłniih (ni-NEUT)
hodiłniih

 3. a wave passes or spreads (epidemic, a heat wave, a crowd, a swarm, a fad)

Theme Category Bases Transitive bases (O + ł)
ł motion

S passes

  • iiłnííh
  • diłnííh
  • hałnííh
  • ńʼdiiłnííh (start)
  • tádíłnííh
  • yíłnííh (ni-MOM)
  • niiłnííh
  • naałniih (CONT)
nahałnííh
  • yiłnih (PROG)

 4. to know, to be aware

Theme Category Bases Transitive bases (O + ł)
Ø ?

S knows

S makes O know

  • yiʼíłnííh
ná + l ?

S remembers

S reminds O

  • yééyíłnííh (ni-MOM)
Ø ?

S hears, learns

Stem set

Aspect IMP PERF FUT ITER OPT
MOM -nííh -niiʼ -nih -nih -nííh
CONT / DUR -niih -niiʼ -nih -nih -niih
REP / SER -nih -niiʼ -nih -nih -nih
SEM -nih -nih -nih -nih -nih
NEUT -niih -niiʼ - - -

See also Appendix: Roots and stems derivation.

Synonyms

to act with body:

to hurt:

 

crowd or herd moves:

to know:

Derived terms

Navajo terms belonging to the root -NIIʼ (act with hand)

Navajo terms belonging to the root -NIIʼ (hurt)

Navajo terms belonging to the root -NIIʼ (wave passes)

Navajo terms belonging to the root -NIIʼ (know)

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