From Proto-Athabaskan *džeq’, a root with multiple meanings throughout the Athabaskan languages, related to sticky matter, and to the handling or movement of a liquid, viscous or granular mass or of a plurality of objects.
Compare Carrier dzeh (“gum, resin”), esdzeh (“to glue, to weld”), nenesdzeh (“to put liquid, grease”), nedisdzeh (“to put hay or moss”), Mattole dehdidžeɣ (“they float”), Koyukon nitoxadaniłdzaq (“a lot of driftwood has accumulated in the water”), Dena'ina -džax (“pl. S run”), nə-džax (“pl. S fly”).
Occurs in Navajo in bases related to the parallel positioning of plural elongated subjects (sticks, ropes or animated), to the running of plural subjects (see also yideeł and yilé for a similar connection between the movement of rope-like objects (SFO) and running), and to the greasing or sticking of objects.
-JÉÉʼ
| Theme | Category | Bases | Transitive bases (O + ł) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | positional |
3+ S are lying |
S keeps 3+
|
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| hi + yíní + ∅ | positional |
3+ S are partly lying or dangling |
|||||
| ni + ∅ |
3+ S recline
|
S lays 3+ O
|
2. plural S run
| Theme | Category | Bases | Transitive bases (O + ł) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | motion |
plural S run |
3. to stick, to cause to adhere, to smear, to grease
| Theme | Category | Bases | Transitive bases (O + ł) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O + ∅ | conversive |
S smears O
|
|||||
| ∅ | ? |
S sticks to P
|
S sticks O to P, solders O to P |
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| ∅ | adjectival |
S is sticky, viscous |
| Aspect | IMP | PERF | FUT | ITER | OPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOM | -jeeh | -jééʼ | -jah | -jah | -jeeh |
| CONT / CONCL | -jeeh | -jééʼ | -jah | -jah | -jeeh |
| NEUT | -jééʼ | -jééʼ | - | - | - |
See also Appendix: Roots and stems derivation.
to lie, to recline:
to run:
to stick, to adhere:
to weld, to solder:
to grease, to coat:
Navajo terms belonging to the root -JÉÉʼ (lie)