Lexical Suffixes

1. -ép ~ -əp ‘base, bottom’

1_base or bottom_LS_VG_2022
(cf. Haeberlin 1974 :230 4.28 ‘bottom, back part’) only in:
tqép ‘tidal pound’ (< tә́q ‘be closed off’)
yә́qʷəp ‘fell a tree by burning’ (< yә́qʷ ‘burn’)
sqʷéq̓əp ‘shuttlecock cod lure’ (< ?)

2. -ép ~ -əp ‘hair’?

2_hair_LS_VG_2022
(cf. Haeberlin 1974:232 11.3. Kal. ‘rope, hair’) only in:
sq̓t̕ᶿép (CC), sq̓ә́t̕ᶿəp (JP) ‘hair knot on top of head’ (< ?)
skʷә́ysəp ‘hair knot at back’ (< ?)

3. -ә́psəm ~ -əpsém- ‘neck, nape’

3_neck or nape_LS_VG_2022
tә́psəm ‘nape’ (< tə- dummy root?)
ƛ̓əqtә́psəm ‘long-necked’ (< ƛ̓éqt ‘long’)
təməłә́psəm ‘pileated woodpecker’ (< tә́məł ‘red ochre’)
ləkʷә́psəm ‘break one’s neck’ (< lә́kʷ ‘get broken’)
ƛ̓əkʷəpsémt ‘grab him by the neck’ (cf. ƛ̓kʷát ‘grab it’)

4. -mət ‘appearance’?

4_appearance_LS_VG_2022
ʔəy̓ә́y̓mət (JP), ʔiʔә́y̓mət (AG) ‘pretty’ (< ʔә́y̓ ‘good’)
qəlqә́mət ‘ugly’ (< qә́l ‘bad’)
ʔəy̓ámət ‘easy, easy-going, cheap’ (JP) (< ʔә́y̓ ‘good’ + ?)

5. -mat ‘kind, piece, part’

5_kind or piece or part of something_LS_VG_2022
qә́x̌mat ‘many kinds’ (< qә́x̌ ‘many’)
łә́xʷmat ‘three pieces’ (< łíxʷ ‘three’)
θímat ‘greater part’ (< θí ‘big’)

6. -mən ~ -ә́mən ~ -əmən̓ ~ -mín ‘instrument’

6_instrument_LS_VG_2022
k̓ʷqʷә́mən ‘axe’ (cf. k̓ʷáqʷət ‘hit it, as with a club’)
łә́t̕əmən̓ ‘herring rake’ (< łә́t̕əm ‘rake herring’, cf. łt̕et ‘flick it’)
kʷəcmín ‘deer-hoof rattle’ (cf. kʷécəm ‘scream’)

7. -mən ~ -mín ~ -mí·n ‘location, position’

7_location or position_LS_VG_2022
yəwén̓mən ‘area in front of house’ (< yəw̓én̓ ‘before, first’)
ʔəncémən ‘all parts of the body’ (< ʔә́nəcə ‘where’)
təsmín ‘next younger sibling’ (< tә́s ‘arrive there’)
sənƛ̓eʔmí·n ‘next older sibling’ (< sә́nƛ̓eʔ ‘senior sibling/cousin’)

8. -mən ~ -ém̓ən ~ -mín ‘residue’

8_residue_LS_VG_2022
t̕ᶿә́m̓mən ‘small bones left over after a meal’ (< st̕ᶿám̓ ‘bone’)
t̕ᶿəx̌mín ‘junk, worthless stuff’ (< t̕ᶿә́x̌ ‘get used up’, cf. t̕ᶿéx̌ ‘sell cheap, pawn’)

9. -ém̓ən ‘extracted liquid’ (cf. no. 7)

9_extracted liquid_LS_VG_2022
k̓ʷa·nt̕ém̓ən ‘porpoise oil’ (< k̓ʷá·nt̕ ‘porpoise’)
sq̓ʷi·l̕məxʷém̓ən ‘blackberry juice’ (< sq̓ʷí·l̕məxʷ ‘blackberries’)
ckʷimém̓ən ‘red liquid’ (< ckʷím ‘red’)

10. -əmət̕ᶿ ~ -émət̕ᶿ ‘long object’

10_long object_LS_VG_2022
sk̓ʷínəmət̕ᶿ ‘how many (poles, etc.)?’ (< k̓ʷín ‘how many?’)
nəc̓émət̕ᶿ ‘one (long object)’ (< nә́c̓aʔ ‘one’)
ƛ̓əqtémət̕ᶿ ‘tall (person)’ (< ƛ̓éqt ‘long’)

11. -məx ~ -áməx ~ -ám̓əx ‘country, person’ (cf. no. 10)

11_country or person_LS_VG_2022
łéq̓əməx ‘flats, flat country (as the Fraser delta)’ (cf. łq̓ét ‘wide’)
stáməx ‘warrior’ (dummy root t- ?)
qә́ləməx ‘Bud, Pal’ (cf. qéqələ ‘baby’, also Shuswap qəlmuxʷ ‘person’ Kuipers 1974:236)
sqx̌ʷám̓əx (also recorded sqʷx̌ʷám̓əx) ‘Squamish’ (people and country up Howe Sound) (< ?)

12. -məxʷ ~ -éməxʷ ~ -əlməxʷ ~ əwməxʷ ~ -aw̓məxʷ ‘place, people, cluster’ (?)

12_place or people or cluster_LS_VG_2022
tә́məxʷ ‘earth, land, soil’ (< t- dummy root?)
xʷә́lməxʷ ‘village, Indigenous Person
šxʷłël̕éməxʷ ‘sea hunter-fisher’ (šxʷ- ‘obl. nom.’, cf. łé·l ‘go shoreward’)
sq̓ʷí·l̕məxʷ ‘blackberries’ (//s-q̓ʷә́l-əlməxʷ//, < q̓ʷә́l ‘be cooked, ripe’)
ʔəw̓k̓ʷә́lməxʷ ‘all different kinds of First Nations People (< ʔә́w̓k̓ʷ ‘be used up’)
nəc̓ә́wməxʷ ‘one people (“tribe”)’ (< nә́c̓aʔ ‘one’)
nəc̓ә́wməxʷ ‘different people’ (< néc̓ ‘different’, the root is different from the last, but the derivatives are homophonous)
skʷxә́wməxʷ ‘name of a country’ (< skʷíx ‘name’)
qx̌áw̓məxʷ ‘many different kinds of people’ (< qә́x̌ ‘many’)

13. -ә́lməxʷ ‘breast, milk, spring (of water)’

13_breast or milk or a spring of water_LS_VG_2022
θiθә́lməxʷ ‘big-breasted’
qətә́lməxʷəm ‘bind one’s breasts’ (cf. qítət ‘bind it’)
p̓t̕ᶿә́lməxʷ ‘milk a cow’ (cf. p̓ә́t̕ᶿət ‘wring it out’)
musməsә́lməxʷ ‘cow’s milk’ (< músməs ‘cow’)
snəsә́lməxʷ ‘butter’ (< snás ‘fat, oil’)
sqim̓ək̓ʷә́lməxʷ p.n. ‘Devilfish Spring’

14. -amaʔ ‘body’

14_body_LS_VG_2022
θəhámaʔ ‘big-bodied’
k̓ʷàm̓k̓ʷəm̓ámaʔ ‘strong-bodied’

15. -í·maʔ ? (perhaps //-əl-əmaʔ//, a connective -əl- with 6.12. -amaʔ ‘body’)

15_body_LS_VG_2022
ʔә́y̓í·maʔ ‘clean (person, house)’ (< ʔә́y̓ ‘good’)
qɨlí·maʔ ‘dirty (person, house)’ (< qә́l ‘bad’)

Return to Language and Grammar Resources