Introduction

In which the US states of Mississippi, Michigan, and Massachusetts all have a common ancestor in Algonquian *meʔši-: "large".

But not Missouri. I checked 4 or 5 times because my mind kept rejecting the answer.

Teaser

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Algonquian *-ʔči-

Central Algonquian
- Ojibwe ᒋ- chi- big, great, long, very ^[1]
Algonquian *meʔši- large (indefinite?)
- Central Algonquian
  - Miami mihši-
    
    Miami mihšipakwa (big) leaf
    
    Miami Mihšisiipiiwi
  - Ojibwe *michi- ^[1]
    
    Ojibwe *michi-gami
    
    English Michigan
    
    Ojibwe *michi-ziibi
    
    English Mississippi
    
    Ojibwe mishiimin apple presumably "[big] berry, big fruit"
    
    Ojibwe Mishiiminens-oodena Minneapolis bilingual pun, literally "mini-apple town"
    
    Ojibwe ᒋ- chi- big, great, long, very ^[1]
- Eastern Algonquian
  - Wampanoag mish- ^[2]
    
    Wampanoag mishadchu big hill, the Great Blue Hill
    
    Wampanoag Mâsachuwesut at the Great Hill
    
    English Massachusett
    
    English Massachusetts
    
    Wampanoag misheepee
    
    Wampanoag Mâseepee Large Water (place name) ^[2]
    
    English Mashpee
    
    Wampanoag *mish-tahssôt high king
    
    English Massasoit
    
    Wampanoag mishetashin it storms lit. "the wind becomes great"
- Algonquian *meʔši-sipowi large river
  - Arapaho Beesniicíe Mississippi River
  - Central Algonquian
    
    Fox
    
    Meskwaki Mäse’sibowi Mississippi River
    
    Miami Mihšisiipiiwi
    
    Ojibwe *michi-ziibi
    
    English Mississippi
  - Eastern Algonquian
    
    Wampanoag misheepee
    
    Wampanoag Mâseepee Large Water (place name) ^[2]
    
    English Mashpee
Algonquian *keʔči- large (definite?)
- Central Algonquian
  - Fox
    
    Meskwaki kehči- much, very big
  - Ojibwe ᑭᐦᒋ- gichi- big, great, long, very ^[1]
    
    Ojibwe ᑭᐦᒋᑲᒥ gichi-gami ocean, sea, large lake, Lake Superior
    
    English Gitche Gumee
    
    Ojibwe ᑭᐦᒋᓰᐱ gichi-ziibi Great River, the Mississippi River
    
    Ojibwe gichi-manidoo Great Spirit, God
    
    Ojibwe gichi-manidoo-giizis January lit. "Great Spirit Month"/"Great Spirit time"
    
    Ojibwe ᑭᐦᒋᒨᐦᑯᒫᓂᒧ gichi-mookomaan large knife, sword, white man, American, Virginian
    
    Ojibwe ᑭᐦᒋᒨᐦᑯᒫᓂᒧᑭᐊ gichi-mookomaan-aki United States of America lit. "big knife land"/"white man land"
    
    Ojibwe gichi-gwaaba'igan Big Dipper (constellation)
    
    Ojibwe ᒋ- chi- big, great, long, very ^[1]
- Cree ᑭᐦᒋ kihci-
  - Cree ᑭᐦᒋ ᓂᐢᑲ kihci-niska Canada goose lit. "big goose"/"great goose"
- Eastern Algonquian
  - Abenaki kchi big, great
  - Mohegan kôkci- big

Algic *pekʷ?

Yurok pecu up river
- Yurok Pecheeklaa Upriver People, Karuk
Yurok pulekʷ down river
- Yurok Pueleeklaa Downriver People, River Yurok
Yurok wohpekʷ across the water, west
Wiyot pet-tsah'-w creek
Algonquian *si•powi
- Arapaho niicii river
  - Arapaho Beesniicíe Mississippi River
- Central Algonquian
  - Fox
    
    Kickapoo θiipoi river
    
    Meskwaki sipowi river
    
    Meskwaki Mäse’sibowi Mississippi River
  - Miami siipiiwi river
    
    Miami Mihšisiipiiwi
  - Ojibwe ᓰᐱ ziibi river
    
    Ojibwe ziibiins creek, small river
    
    Ojibwe *michi-ziibi
    
    English Mississippi
    
    Ojibwe ᑭᐦᒋᓰᐱ gichi-ziibi Great River, the Mississippi River
- Cree ᓰᐱᔾ sîpiy river
- Eastern Algonquian
  - Abenaki sibo river
  - Mohegan sipo river
- Algonquian *meʔši-sipowi large river
  - Arapaho Beesniicíe Mississippi River
  - Central Algonquian
    
    Fox
    
    Meskwaki Mäse’sibowi Mississippi River
    
    Miami Mihšisiipiiwi
    
    Ojibwe *michi-ziibi
    
    English Mississippi
  - Eastern Algonquian
    
    Wampanoag misheepee
    
    Wampanoag Mâseepee Large Water (place name) ^[2]
    
    English Mashpee

Visual

Collected English words

Footnotes

There is almost certainly a connection between *meʔši-: "big" and *keʔči-: "big".

In modern Ojibwe, the Mississippi and Lake Superior are Gichi-ziibi and Gichi-gami, but English Mississippi and Michigan are understood to come from Ojibwe *Michi-ziibi and *Michi-gami. And there are all those other Algonquian languages use names for the Mississippi corresponding to the *meʔši- form. Also, there is Ojibwe mishiimin: "apple" which is presumably "large berry"—and the delightful bilingual pun Mishiiminens-oodena: "Mini-Apple Town" for "Minneapolis". Perhaps even funnier if mishiiminens is "big-berry-little".

In fact, Ojibwe also sometimes uses a reduced form chi instead of gichi, though that is considered informal and some Ojibwe elders proscribe it.

Since in Algonquian nouns are obligatorily possessed, *meʔši- vs. *keʔči- may be a fossilization of *me-ʔči: "somebody's large (noun)" vs. *ke-ʔči: "your large (noun)", perhaps acting like a indefinite/definite distinction.

It's unclear if Mâseepee is from *meʔši-nepyi: "Large Water" -> mâs-nippe or *meʔši-si·po·wi: "Large River" -> mâs-sipu. While mâs-sipu seems to be a better phonological fit, but the origin is generally considered to be *meʔši-nepyi, a better semantic fit.

Also Wampanoag names with "big, great" as transmitted through English consistently have a a vowel, or a â in revived Wampanoag, but words as recorded in written Wampanoag from the 18th century use a i vowel; such as Mâsachuw(esut) vs mishadchu. Possibly this is dialectical variation?

Word Family - Skunk

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Chicago, skunk

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Algonquian *-a·kw- animal, bushy-tailed animal, fox
- Algonquian *wa·kwa fox
  - Algonquian *wa·kwehsa fox kit, fox with diminutive *-ehsa
    
    Central Algonquian
    
    Ojibwe ᐙᑯᔥ waagosh fox
    
    Cheyenne vóhkéso fox kit ^[1]
    
    Eastern Algonquian
    
    Abenaki (w)ôkwses fox ^[1]
    
    Mohegan wôks fox ^[1]
    
    Unami òkwës fox …

AidanEM

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