132 -BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 40 



§ 50. Meaning of Roots 



In regard to meaning-, roots fall into at least three classes. 



(1) A few monosyllabic nouns, occupying the position in the verb 

 which belongs to the root, name the means employed; while the gen- 

 eral nature of the act is suggested by that part of the verb which pre- 

 cedes the root. For example, -tits (a verbal root identical with the 

 noun tits A cane) occurs in the verb tcittehtits he walked with a cane. 



(2) A rather large number of roots, while not definitely naming the 

 object, indicate the class to which it belongs as regards its size, shape, 

 or physical character. The most important of these are the following: 



-«a;i, -^un^ -^aum round objects 



-ut flat and flexible 



-wen^ -wih^-iouw fire 



-lai^ -la^ -luw several of any kind 



-lei several children or animals 



-iw, -Le dough 



-xan^ -xicn, -xauw liquid 



-da a person or animal 



-tan^ -tun^ -turn a long object 



-ten^ -tin^ -tuw person, animal, or animal product 



-tan^ tun wax or waxlike 



-tcwai the soil 



-kyos, flat and flexible object 



These verbal roots are rigidly restricted in their applicability to 

 objects of definite form, including in this category number. This 

 classification has reference to the appearance of objects as round, 



FLAT AND FLEXIBLE, LONG AND SLIM, ANIMATE, PLURAL. In the 



intransitive verb this has reference to the form of the subject; in the 

 transitive verb, to the form of the object. 



(3) Most if not all the remaining roots indicate more or less exactly 

 the nature of the act itself. It has been impossible, with no knowl- 

 edge of the past histor}^ of the Hupa language and but little access 

 to the related languages, to define exactly the meaning of many of the 

 roots. 



§ ^/. Analysis of Verbal Forms 



A few of the more complex forms are analyzed in the following 

 table in accordance with the general discussion of the formative ele- 

 ments contained in the preceding sections. 



§§ 50, 51 



