Hunter-Gatherer Language Database

black bear

Semantic Field: flora-fauna
Part of Speech
Meaning Spanish
Meaning Portuguese

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Language	Linnean Name	Orthographic Form	Phonemicized Form	Gloss as in Source	Etymology Code	Proto-Form	Proto-Language	Loan Source	Etymology Notes	Wanderwort Status	Etyma Set	Range of Term	Word Structure	Word Structure Notes	Classifier	Classifier Notes	Hypernym	Source	Association with Social Categories	Ritual/Mythologically Significant	Ritual Notes	Food Source	Food Notes	Medicinal	Medicinal Notes	How Collected	Who Collects	How Prepared	Psychotropic	Psychotropic Notes	Traded	Trade Notes	Distribution	Habitat	Dangerous	Ethnobiology Notes	Species Notes	General Notes

Language	Linnean Name	Orthographic Form	Phonemicized Form	Gloss as in Source	Etymology Code	Proto-Form	Proto-Language	Loan Source	Etymology Notes	Wanderwort Status	Etyma Set	Range of Term	Word Structure	Word Structure Notes	Classifier	Classifier Notes	Source	Association with Social Categories	Ritual/Mythologically Significant	Ritual Notes	Food Source	Food Notes	Medicinal	How Collected	Who Collects	How Prepared	Trade Notes	Distribution	Habitat	Dangerous
Bankalachi Toloim	Ursus americanus	oo'-nahl		Black Bear (Ursus americanus)	inheritance	*hula-	Proto-Uto-Aztecan		S105 (Stubbs 2009:53)			broader (probably can be used for all bears as in Tubatulabal)	other complex	-l is the non-possessed-noun suffix			C. H. Merriam 72-797, 60-449		1		2		0							yes
Big Smokey Valley Shoshone	Ursus americanus	wyyta		bear (M: Black Bear (Ursus americanus)	inheritance		Numic		See N. Paiute wɨdaɂa			same	underived				Crapo 1976:109		1		2		0							yes
Cahuilla	Ursus americanus	húnwet	ˈhunwet	bear	inheritance	*huna-wɨ-ta	Californian		S132 (Stubbs 2009:59). This is “big badger”; badger, *hura(p), is UA etymon. But only means “bear” in California.			broader (includes any bear)	derived	hun-wet “badger-augmentative” (presumably a euphemism)	-7aʃ "pet"	possesive classifier -7aʃ "pet"	Seiler & Hioki 1979:60	no info	1	shamanism	2	only old people, shamans could eat (Bean 1972:63)	no info	hunted	Men	for skins,teeth, claws, for shamanic use, but very rarely hunted		Cahuillas consistently report that black bears didn't occur in their area	chaparral, woodlands	yes
Central Sierra Miwok	Ursus americanus	7yšy:-maTi-, hyšy:mati-		bear	inheritance	*7y$y-maTi7	Eastern Miwokan		Callaghan 1971				phrase	bad-creature			Freeland & Broadbent 1960		1		2		0							yes
Chemehuevi	Ursus americanus	papáwA		Bear	loan	*paha(wa)	Proto-Numic	unknown	Stubbs 135 (2008:59); probably linked to Mono pahabici, Tsh pahamicci, NP padua	WW	%paha	broader (probably any bear)	underived				Harrington Chemehuevi Noun List		1		2		0							yes
Chumash Barbareno	Ursus americanus	xus		bear (both grizzly and black)	inheritance	*qus	Proto-Chumash		Klar 1977:68-9				underived				Beeler 1978:190		1		2		0							yes
Chumash Ineseno	Ursus americanus	xus		bear, grizzly bear	inheritance	*qus	Proto-Chumash		Klar 1977:68-9				underived				Merriam 55:3		1		2		0							yes
Chumash Obispeno	Ursus americanus	tuquski('), tuhuski(')		bear	inheritance	*qus	Proto-Chumash						other complex	xus with prefix, suffix			Klar 1977:69		1		2		0							yes
Chumash Ventureno	Ursus americanus	xus		bear (both grizzly and black)	inheritance	*qus	Proto-Chumash		Klar 1977:68-9				underived				Merriam 55:35		1		2		0							yes
Cocopa	Ursus americanus	ɂu·s		bear	loan			Spanish		WW	%oso	same	underived				Crawford 1989		1		2		0							yes
Comanche	Ursus americanus	wasápe		bear	unique		Central Numic		from “kill several”; derivation means “game”			same	other complex	has -pɨ ABS			Robinson & Armagost 1990:162		1		2		0							yes
Cupeño	Ursus americanus	hunwet	ˈhunwət	bear	inheritance	*huna-wɨ-ta	Californian		S132 (Stubbs 2009:59). This is “big badger”; badger, *hura(p), is UA etymon. But only means “bear” in California.			broader (includes all bears)	derived	ˈhun-wə-t badger-big-npn	-ʔaʃ "pet"	possessive classifier for animals	Hill & Nolasquez 1973:156	no info	1	shamans become bears	2	not eaten by Lu; for Ca., only elderly and shamans can eat	no info	hunted	men	mainly for claws, pelt	claw regalia perhaps traded, no info	western North America	chaparral, woodlands	yes
Esselen	Ursus americanus	koltála		bear	unique								underived	note Miwokan kule “black”, word for “bear” in Lake Miwok			Shaul 1995:226		1		2		0							yes
Gabrielino	Ursus americanus	pi'-yah'-ho'-naht	ˈpa:yax ˈho:nat (?) (A Serrano-ized form)	Black Bear	loan			Serrano or Kitanemuk for the hona:t part	should be huna:r; Is this Kitanemuk interference?			same	phrase	ˈpa:ya-x ˈhuna:-t ?-pres.tense bear-npn (why is this -t and not -r??)	-ʔaʧ "pet"	possessive classifier for animals	http://www.archive.org/stream/bancroft_chartmerriam_1556_60#page/n415/mode/2up; p. 415	no info	1	in shamanism; and a Chingichngish animal (McC 146)	2	McC p. 116	no info	hunted	men	mainly for skin, claws, but according to McC bear meat eaten	hides often trade	North America	chaparral, woodland	yes
Iipay 'Aa	Ursus americanus	nem-moo'-el (Merriam 55:199)		bear	unique				Couro & Hutcheson record 'os, from Spanish; may be related to the wildcat word			same	underived				Merriam 55:199		1		2		0							yes
Kawaiisu	Ursus americanus	moɁorii-ži		black bear	loan			Yokutian, perhaps by way of Tumpisa Shoshone	Note T. Shoshone mor-itch (Merriam) “black bear”; loan from Utian words for “black, dark” (Callaghan 2001:327); cf. Palewyami Yokuts molaj' “bear” Callaghan 2001:333 (and see Stubbs 134 (2008:59)	WW	%mol	same	other complex	moɁorii-ži black.bear-ABS			Zigmond et al.		1		2		0							yes
Kiliwa	Ursus americanus	kw+maqn		bear; engine	unique							same	relative clause	kw-maqn REL-sweet			Mixco 1985		1		2		0							yes
Kitanemuk	Ursus americanus	hunaɨt	ˈhunaɨt	bear	inheritance	*huna-wɨ-ta	Californian		S132 (Stubbs 2009:59). This is “big badger”; badger, *hura(p), is UA etymon. But only means “bear” in California.			broader (includes all bears)	derived	ˈhuna-ɨ-t bear-augmentative-npn (-w- lost regularly)	-ʔacit "pet"	possessive classifier for animals	Anderton 1988:322	no info	1	bear shamanism, guardian spirits	2		no info	hunted	men	mainly for hide, claws		North America	chaparral, woodland	yes
Lake Miwok	Ursus americanus	kúle		bear	semantic shift		Miwokan		Pmiw kule “bear” < Pmie kul “black” (presumably originally Pmi as “black”), a typical “bear” word				underived				Callaghan 1965		1		2		0							yes
Luiseño	Ursus americanus	húnwut	ʹhunwut	bear	inheritance	*huna-wɨ-ta	Californian		S132 (Stubbs 2009:59). This is “big badger”; badger, *hura(p), is UA etymon. But only means “bear” in California.			broader (includes all bears)	derived	ʹhun-wu-t badger-augmentative-non.possessed.noun (this is a euphemism and is felt as derived)		hunwutal if dead	Elliott 1999:358	no info	1	shamanism, especially	2	“never eaten” (Sparkman 1908:199)	no	hunted	men	skin, claws saved; stone erected at site of death (Sparkman 1908:199)		North America	chaparral, woodland	yes
Maidu	Ursus americanus	7inánasi		bear (general term)	unique				berry-eater? From Miwokan berry word??				other complex	-i is stem former			Shipley 1963		1		2		0							yes
Mojave	Ursus americanus	mahwat		bear	inheritance		Proto-Yuman		badger-big (see badger); Maricopa mәxwәt			same	phrase	from mahwa - ɂatay badger big			Munro et al.1992		1		2		0							yes
Mutsun	Ursus americanus	7ores		bear	inheritance	**7ole$	Costanoan		Callagan 2001:326; and Note Yn, Yv ului in D&K (Callaghan 2001:340)				underived				Okrand 1977:39		1		2		0							yes
Nisenan	Ursus americanus	kapa		bear (CHM koo'-loo-mim kah-pah; em-mol-im kah-pah; em-mŭl “black bear”	loan			unknown		WW	%paha		underived				Uldall & Shipley 1966		1		2		0							yes
Northern Paiute	Ursus americanus	wɨdaɂa		Black bear, bear, brown bear	inheritance		Numic		May be a loan, but see BSVS wyyta “bear”, Comanche wɨra “male bear”; may match the Merriam Walker Lake form (see “other notes”), which has “black” in it --			same	underived				Thornes 2003:192		1		2		0							yes
Northern Sierra Miwok	Ursus americanus	7ysy:maTi-		bear	inheritance	*7y$y-maTi7	Eastern Miwokan		Callaghan 1971 (means “bad - creature”				phrase	bad-creature			Callaghan 1987		1		2		0							yes
Plains Miwok	Ursus americanus	7ysy:mati-, 7ysym:ati-		bear	inheritance	*7y$y-maTi7	Eastern Miwokan		Callaghan 1971				phrase	bad creature			Callaghan 1984		1		2		0							yes
Salinan A	Ursus americanus	Taxáy'		bear	unique		Salinan		could these be Takic loans meaning "person (vocative)"???				underived	unless /T/ is articular prefix			Mason 1918:125; Turner 1980:68		1		2		0							yes
Salinan M	Ursus americanus	T<Axaí'		bear	unique		Salinan						underived				Mason 1918:125		1		2		0							yes
Seri (Comcaac)	Ursus americanus	missing			missing								missing						1		2		0							yes
Serrano	Ursus americanus	hu:na-t		bear	inheritance	*huna-wɨ-ta	Californian		S132 (Stubbs 2009:59). This is “big badger”; *hura(p) “badger” is UA etymon. But this only means “bear” in Californian.				other complex	-t NPN			KCHill ms 2001:16		1		2		0							yes
Southern Paiute	Ursus americanus	kwe-ahnt'		A bear	unique	*kwiya			Colorado River Numic only; Stubbs 136 (2008:59)(this is same word as Sapir's “grizzly”)			same	derived	looks like a deverbal derivation with -tɨ			Merriam's Ki-vav-vit 61:343		1		2		0							yes
Southern Sierra Miwok	Ursus americanus	7yhy:maTi		bear	inheritance	*7y$y-maTi7	Eastern Miwokan		Callaghan 1971 bad-creature				phrase	bad creature			Broadbent 1964:	Bear moiety:7yhy:mati-	1		2		0							yes
Southern Ute	Ursus americanus	kwiyá-ga-tĮ		bear	unique				Colorado River Numic only; Stubbs 136 (2008:59)			broader (all bears?)	derived	looks like a deverbal derivation with -tI, but what is the verb?			Givon 1979		1		2		0							yes
Tübatulabal	Ursus americanus	ūnal	ʔu:ˈnal	bear, Grizzly bear	inheritance	*hula-	Uto-Aztecan		S105 (Stubbs 2009:53)			broader (includes all bears)	other complex	ʔu:ˈna-l bear-npn			Hill 2010:102	no info	1	Bear is a supernatural being, a yümükīwal, and must be treated with respect	2	“A difference of opinion” (Voegelin 1938:12)	no info	hunted	men	roasted, skin, claws kept although bearkin robes said to be “too heavy” -- they were good for cutting boards, pounding surfaces because thick		North America	chaparral, woodland	yes
Tümpisa Shoshone	Ursus americanus	pahamittsi (M has also mor-itch)		bear	loan	*paha	Proto-Numic	unknown	Stubbs 135 (2008:59); mor-itch is loan from Utian words for “black, dark” (Callaghan 2001:327); cf. Palewyami Yokuts molaj' “bear” Callaghan 2001:333	WW	%paha, %mol	same	other complex	pahami-ttsi bear-DIM (rest is probably complex too)			Dayley 1989:178		1		2		0							yes
Wappo	Ursus americanus	chíca		bear (CHM also has hōl-tum' “black bear”	unique								underived				Sawyer 1965		1		2		0							yes
Washo	Ursus americanus	mɨX:de		black bear, brown bear	unique								underived				Merriam 55:297; WPD		1		2		0							yes
Western Mono	Ursus americanus	wah-san'-nu; (cinnamon); wah-să-nah		black bear	unique							same	underived				Bethel et al.	no info	1	Brown Bear took Jimsonweed so is gentle; bear shamanism	2		no info	hunted	men	no info				yes
Wintu	Ursus americanus	c'iL		bear, black or brown, all except grizzly	inheritance	*č'il	Wintun		Shepherd 2005; Golla 1997:164 relates to Alsea su:Ln 'grizzly' and perhaps ultimately to words for “black”				underived	just means “black”			Pitkin 1985		1		2		0							yes
Yavapai	Ursus americanus	mhwā(·)ta		bear	inheritance		Proto-Yuman		badger-big				unknown				Shaterian 1983		1		2		0							yes
Yokuts Palewyami	Ursus americanus	molay'		bear	loan			Miwok	only in Choynok, Yawe Callaghan 2001:333 says “may match PM *my:de “brown bear”. I think both are from “black, dark” P-U word; calling bears “the dark one, the brown one” is a near-universal	WW	%mol	same	underived				Gamble 1991 (from Harrington)		1		2		0							yes
Yokuts Yawdanchi	Ursus americanus	dûuxun		bear	unique				only in Yawd, Wik (Tule-Kaweah branch)			same	underived				Kroeber 1961:199		1		2		0							yes
Yokuts Yowlumne	Ursus americanus	moloi		bear	loan			Miwok	only in Choynok, Yawe Callaghan 2001:333 says “may match PM *my:de “brown bear”. I think both are from “black, dark” P-U word; calling bears “the dark one, the brown one” is a near-universal	WW	%mol	same	underived				Kroeber 1961:199		1		2		0							yes
Yuki	Ursus americanus	wošet A, F, wah-shit MWO		black bear	inheritance	*wəšit'							other complex	-it is absolutive			Sawyer & Schlichter 1984		1		2		0							yes
Yuma	Ursus americanus	mŭCH whet'-tah		A bear (Ursus)	inheritance		Proto-Yuman		badger-big (see badger)				unknown				Merriam 61:449		1		2		0							yes


Bankalachi Toloim
Big Smokey Valley Shoshone
Cahuilla
Central Sierra Miwok
Chemehuevi
Chumash Barbareno
Chumash Ineseno
Chumash Obispeno
Chumash Ventureno
Cocopa
Comanche
Cupeño
Esselen
Gabrielino
Iipay 'Aa
Kawaiisu
Kiliwa
Kitanemuk
Lake Miwok
Luiseño
Maidu
Mojave
Mutsun
Nisenan
Northern Paiute
Northern Sierra Miwok
Plains Miwok
Salinan A
Salinan M
Seri (Comcaac)
Serrano
Southern Paiute
Southern Sierra Miwok
Southern Ute
Tübatulabal
Tümpisa Shoshone
Wappo
Washo
Western Mono
Wintu
Yavapai
Yokuts Palewyami
Yokuts Yawdanchi
Yokuts Yowlumne
Yuki
Yuma

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