BY HERMANN B. RITZ, M.A. 71 



We find " li " or " iii " also in the form " ri. We have 

 " H-e-na," " le-na," " re-na " (kangaroo) ; " re-na " (water 

 rat) ; " re-ne " (to run) ; " li-a " (water) ; " li " (weapon). 



All these meanings are comprised in swift or speedy. 

 An edged stone will be speedier in its work as a tool 

 than a blunt one, and the characteristic of a living 

 animal, a running stream, a boat, a foot, a bird, is 

 motion. 



I agree with Dr. Noetling that " loan-tennina," 

 " lenni-parenna," and " leni-carpeny " are words of the 

 same meaning. Analysing them, we find the first parts, 

 " loan," " lenni," and " leni," meaning " stone suitable 

 for sharpening." Stones seem to have Ihad no meaning 

 and no name except in so far as they were found useful. 

 " Tennina " may be akin to " tenine " (a finger or toe- 

 nail), " something that scratches." " Parenna " seems to 

 be a form of " pe-re-na," wbere " pe " would mean 

 " pointed, sharp," as in " pe-na " (a lance or spear), and 

 " re " would be " cutting." " Carpenny " may be com- 

 posed of " kaw " (teeth), " pe " (sharp), and the suffix 

 " ny " or " ne." 



The round stone, presumed to have been used for 

 religious ceremonies, was called " pe-ura." The explana- 

 tion of this word is specially difficult, as we do not know 

 the exact pronunciation of it. If the "' r " is harshly 

 trilled — as it evidently was ^yhen the recorders wrote 

 the same word as "prena" and " perina," " trona " and 

 " teruna " — it is quite possible that " peura " was but 

 another form of " palla " (round), as we find it in " pala " 

 (sun, star), " pala " (man), " pula-tula " (eye), " pul- 

 bena " (frog), perhaps a bull-frog, " poira " (round 

 shell). This presents a suggestive analogy with " ball," 

 "bull-et," "bowl," "bill-et," "pill," "barrel," "pear," 

 " berry," " apple," " malum." 



Another conjecture is tliat "peura" is a form of 

 " pe-una," where " pe " would have the meaning of to 

 hurt from " pena " (spear), and " una " means fire. In 

 support of this we have " mungara puna " (scar), such 

 as would be caused by wounds inflicted during religious 

 ceremonies, and cauterised to preserve the marks, and 

 at the same time prevent mortification. Of conjectures 

 there is no end, but there is at any rate a beginning; 



