32 ETYMOLOGY. 



wi6a, a male cMc?, hok^iyokopa wiqyar), a female child. 'Mdoka' and 'wiye' 

 distinguish the sex of animals ; as, tamdoka, a buck ; tawiyedaq, a doe, the 'daq' 

 being diminutive. These words, however, are often written separately ; as, pagoqta 

 mdoka, a drake ; zitkadaq wiye, a hen bird. In some instances contraction takes 

 place ; as, suqg mdoka, a horse ; ^uqg wiye, a mare, from suqka. 



3. Proper names of females of the human species frequently have 'wiq,' an 

 abbreviation of ' wiqyar),' female, for their termination ; as, Totidutawii) (woman 

 of her red house); Wakaqkaiiu^uwiq (female spirit that pays debts). Sometimes the 

 diminutive ' wiqna ' is used for ' wiq ;' as, Mahpiwiqna (cloud woman). 



Number. 



§ 66. To nouns belong two numbers, the singular and plural. 



1. The plural of animate objects is denoted by the termination 'pi,' which is 

 attached either to the noun itself; as, suqka, a dog, suqkapi, dogs ; or, as is 

 more commonly the case, to the adjective or verb which follows it in the same 

 phrase ; as, ^uqka ksapapi, wise dogs ; suqka e6or)pi, dogs did it. 



2. a. Names of inanimate objects seldom take the plural termination, even when 

 used with a plural meaning ; as, 6ar), a tree or trees ; maga, a field or fields. 



h. On the other hand, some nouns formed from verbs by adding the plural 

 termination ' pi ' (§ 62. 7. a.) are used with a singular as well as a plural meaning ; 

 as, tipi, a house or houses ; wowapi, a book or books. 



Case. 



§ 67. Dakota nouns may be said to have two principal cases, the nominative and 

 objective. 



The nominative and objective cases are usually known by the place which they 

 occupy in the sentence. When two nouns are used, the one the subject and the 

 other the object of the action, the subject is placed first, the object next, and the 

 verb last ; as, wi6asta wag wowapi waq kaga, (yuan a book a made) a man made a 

 book ; Dawid Sopiya wastedaka, (David Sophia loves) David loves Sophia ; Dakota 

 Besdeke widaktepi, (Dakota Fox-Indian them-they-killed) the Dakotas killed the Fox 

 Indians. 



When, from some consideration, it is manifest which must be the nominative, the arrangement may be 

 diflferent ; as, y/idaita Wakai)tai)ka kaga, (man God made) God made man. 



As this distinction of case is rather syntactical than etymological, see further in the Syntax. 



Possession. 



§ 68. The relation of two nouns to each other, as possessor and possessed, is 

 sometimes indicated by placing them in juxtaposition, the name of the possessor 

 coming first ; as, wahukeza ihupa, spear-handle ; tipi tiyopa, house-door ; wi6asta 

 oie, man^s word. 



Sometimes the first noun suffers contraction; a&, mah.6\T)csi,, a gosling, iot maga ciijca (^roose-cA/W), 

 mahiyumdu, a plough, for maga iyumdu (field-plough) ; mahicahiijte, a rake, for m4ga icahiijte (field- 

 rake). 



