1048 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[bull. 40 



The numeral system of the Eskimo is quinary, closely following the 

 fingers and toes of man. An Eskimo always has recourse to his 

 fingers in counting, lifting his hands in front of him. Nevertheless 

 the terms for the numerals are not identical with those for the fingers 

 or toes. (See examples below.) 



The numerals lack the possessive inflection except in the third 

 person, by means of which the ordinal numbers are formed. 



The following numerals quoted from Thall)itzer (V), Bourquin, 

 Petitot, and Barnum, are slightly transcribed according to my pho- 

 netic orthography. 



Cardinal 

 numbers 



I 1 



2 



3 

 4 

 5 



11(6) 



(V) 

 (8) 

 (9) 



111(11) 



IV(16) 



V(21) 



West Greenland 



otaatDseq 



jmarLuk or 

 \arLaa 



piyasut 

 sisamat 

 tdLLimat 



{arFineq or 

 [arFiniLLit ' 



mariuk 



piyasut 



{sisamat or 

 qulaailuaf^ 



qulit 3 



Iarqaneq or 

 arqaniLLit or 

 mkkaneq or 

 isikkaniLLit 



iarFersaneq or 

 [arFersaniLLit 



{unnn or 

 unnisut 



Labrador 



attauseq 



massuk or 

 agga [axxa]"! 



piijasut 

 sittamat 

 tellimat [tdLLimat]'? 



arvingat* 

 [arFiyat] 



agg&rtut s 



piTjasut 



sittamat 



{tellimat or 

 qollit [qoLLit]'! 



arqayat or 

 itikkane 



ungna or 

 ungnijut 



Mackenzie River 



afaociq 



Imalbrok 



pirfacut 

 ritamat 

 tallimat 



arvenel3rit 



\aypak or 

 \malldronik 



piijacunik 



icitamat or 

 [qolinilloat 



qolit 



iliannerat or 

 itidnnehrit 



igluin-itidnnebrit or 

 itiannerat arvenebrit 



iglut-certut or 

 innuy-cikpaq ^ 



Southwest Alaska 



atauceq 



malruk 



piyijajim 



stamen 



toLLimcn 



arvinlixxin 



malrunlixxin 

 p iyyayunlixxin 

 qolmiunraata 



qoln 



ataucimik cipLuku 

 (15) akimiak 



jiiinok ataucimik 

 cipLuku s 



• -Lit, plural of -lik having, supplied with; in plural also -leet, Leet; same as M. -lerit, Al. -lixxin 

 (Petitot LIV) (Barnum 41: lik, plural ligUt). 



^ qule UPPEE ONE, in third person possessive qulaa + iliiat inner one (i. e., the fourth finger, the 

 forefinger). 



s Plural of qule the upper ones (the hands or fingers as opposed to the toes). 



•• Corresponds to the Greenland ordinal arFeryat the sixth. 



5 Cf. agga two = Gr. arLaa (ordinal). 



^ cikpaq, cf. cika reste, retaille, Al. ciptoq it exceeds, Gr. si^nncra surplus. 



§48 



