A Botanical and Economic Study. 119 



maize became known to these Indians they extended the use 

 of the word to the cereal, and combined other terms with it 

 to define more positively the kind of small grain meant." 

 Thus the Chippeway word for corn, mandamin, the Ottawa, 

 mindamin, the Cree, mittamin, contain the radical min in full, 

 combined with an abbreviation of the word manito, divine, 

 meaning, of course, that the grain was divine, supernatural, 

 mysterious. In the Delaware, the combination is different. 

 The Delaware word jesquem (Campanius), chasquem (Xeis- 

 berger), contains the radical ask, Chippeway ashk, Delaware 

 aski, meaning green. The reference is to the green, moving 

 plant in the fields during the summer months. The Piegan 

 Blackfoot word drops the radical min, but retains the root 

 ask, thus, esko-lope. A classified list of the tribes with their 

 names for maize will show that all the tribes, however widely 

 separated, had a common root for that important cereal : 



Abnaki skamen (Father Rasle) (Journ. Antiq. Soc, n, 305). 

 Algonquin, mitamin (Journ. Antiq. Soc, n, 305) (La Houtan). 

 Chippeway, mandahmin (Keating) (Journ. Antiq. Soc.) (Long). 



mittawmin (Heriot 1. 

 Cree, mittamin (Brintonh 

 Delaware, khasquem (Journ. Antiq. Soc , 11, 305 . 



husquim (Whipple, Ewbank, Turner, 1X55, 9). 

 jesquem (Campanius . 



Lenape. mesittewall. corn boiled whole, 

 scheechgamin. coarse shelled, 

 schesquim, bran, husk, 

 schesquasquim, hulls. 

 winamin, corn is ripe, 

 winaminge, month of August: literally, time 



of roasting ears, 

 achpocm, roasted corn, 

 simaquon, corn-stalk. 

 Illinois, micipi 1 Duponceau . 

 Massachusetts eachim-meneash ( R. Williams'*. 

 Menominee, waupim-meenuc (Doty) (Journ Antiq. Soc, 11, 305). 

 Miami, ment-sheepeh (Thornton). • 



Micmac S. T. Rand, Dictionary Micmac Language, 1888 . 

 peaskumun. 



peaskumuskw, corn-cob, corn stalk, 

 peaskumunwees, corn-hill. 



