[ganong] INDIAN PLACE-NOMENCLATURE 381 



(page 187), and later to be discussed by itself. In primary signification 

 the two roots seem practically identical, the -A-KA'DI-K signifying 

 THEIR-OCCURRENCE-PLACE, and the -A-WIK signifying 

 THEIR-PLACE. To us there is no perceptible difference in 

 significance, but perhaps to the Indian there was. The thought 

 naturally occurs that perhaps the latter form is simply an abbrevi- 

 ation of the former, by omission of a superfluous syllable; and this 

 is possibly the case, though it seems unlikely. 



As with a good many other Indian words, the termination 

 -AKA'DI united with a preceding noun, forms primarily a topo- 

 graphical term which only secondarily becomes fixed as a place-name. 

 Thus Shubenacadie, in its Indian form, was probably a term applicable 

 to any place where ground nuts occur, and later by reiterated appli- 

 cation to a particular place became recognized as the name of that 

 place. In the same way Meskeguacadie, in its Indian form, was the 

 term by which the Indians designated a meadow, any meadow; but 

 in a special case it became attached to a particular meadow, viz. 

 Grand Pré in Nova Scotia. Rand gives several such names, collected 

 into a single list later in this paper (page 432), in which no use of the 

 terms as true place-names is known. Others, however, occur which are 

 used both as topographical terms and place-names, and there would 

 naturally be every gradation between the two. Undoubtedly all of 

 the -ACADIE names originated in this way. The visible differences 

 between the two would consist only in this, that when the word became 

 a place-name it would take the final locative -K or equivalent, which 

 it would lack if only a topographical term. In addition there seems 

 to be another difference embodied in the forms given by Rand and 

 followed in the following pages, that the topographical terms appear 

 often to be pronounced with the accent on the -A syllable instead 

 of the KA; but this may be simply a reflex effect, upon Rand, 

 or his Indian informants, of our popular pronunciation of all 

 -ACADIE names. 



While many of the aboriginal -ACADIE names are simple in 

 form and comparatively easy of pronunciation, others are neither. 

 Accordingly in the following list I have endeavoured to suggest 

 simplified forms for future restoration as place-names, giving always 

 this simplified form as the heading. This simplification is by no 

 means an arbitrary process, but is based on the methods by which 

 such words as Shubenacadie, Passamaquoddy, etc., have been brought 

 to their present forms. 



