Gabb.] ^-"^ [Aug. 20, 



tribe living on the Uren, and the others scattered over the rest of the 

 country. In different districts "a little," wi-ri-wV -ri is also pronounced 

 bi-ri-bi'-ri and wi-di-wi' -di, and many other words especially those with 

 r or d before a vowel, vary fully as much. As has been justly observed by 

 Max Mtiller, laziness often helps this. The present name for rain kon'-ni 

 for instance, is clearly derived from koiig'-U. In fact the proof exists in the 

 form of the word for dust koiVg' -mo-li. But kon'-ni is easier to pronounce 

 than koiig'-li, and has taken its place. 



It would be an interesting study to trace out the ideas which have in- 

 fluenced the formation of compound words. In Bri-bri, a hill is koiig'- 

 be-ta, the point of the country ; in Cabecar it is koiig-tsu', the breast of 

 the country, from tsu, a woman^s breast. Again in Bri-bri a sharp knife 

 is said to be a-ka'-ta, toothed (that it may bite, or cut), the beak of a 

 bird is called its tooth ; and the same I'oot (kioo) is used for a finger-nail, 

 a fish-scale, a bird's feathers, the bark of a tree, or the rind of a fruit. 



Bome few words are used in such varied connections that they warrant 

 special notice. Among these are wo, kong, l-tu, kin, &c. Koiig is a part 

 of nearly all words relating to the earth, the sky, the atmosphere, in 

 short the general surroundings. It means the country, the day, the 

 weather. In composition it forms part of the word for a hill, valley, &c. 

 Wo means originally round, either circular or globular. It is also ap- 

 plied to almost all masses or lumps ; it further forms a component of 

 words having a reference to etitirety or completeness ; thus alone, it 

 means the human face, in compounds it forms a part of the names of the 

 sun and moon, of many parts of the human body, of a drop of water, of 

 a knot, of fruits, seeds, &c ; and of verbs, such as to make, to close, to 

 open, to extinguish, to tie, &c. ; i-tu' means originally to chop, but is 

 applied to shooting, striking with intention of wounding (in contradis- 

 tinction to i-pu' to whip). It also forms part of the verbs to shut, to ex- 

 tinguish, to lie (or throw one's self) down, and, in the latter sense is 

 also used for to pour (to throio out of a vessel). Kin means a region, or 

 district, and is always used in connection with some qualifying word ; 

 thus Lafi-Mn, the country or region of Lari ; de-je'-kin the salt region or 

 sea ; tsong'-kin the sand region, or beach ; but nyo-ro'-kin means in or 

 on the road, and be-ta'-kin on top (of a hill or mountain). Ki-clia' means 

 originally a' string ; derivatively a vine to tie with is tsa' ki-clia, or a 

 string vine. Veins and tendons are called by the same word on account 

 of their resemblance to striugs, while the joints of the limbs are called 

 ki-cha'-wo or the lump of strings. Pa and jje, mean people ; the former 

 combined with the 3d person, singular, personal pronoun ye, makes ye-pa, 

 the 3d person, plural. It is also used combined with wak, tribe ; thus, 

 Lari-wak, means the people of Lari ; sa tcak-i-pa, our people ; in this 

 case used probably as much for clearness as anything else, since tsa wak, 

 (^' vine-tribe^') means ants! TIa-wak-i-2ya, your people. Pe, used alone 

 means somebody; whose is it? ^^pecha;'" "somebody's," cAa being the 

 sign of possession. 



