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níłchʼi. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
níłchʼi, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
níłchʼi in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Navajo
Etymology
From níchʼi (“to blow”, perfective) + ł- (classifier), from -chʼi (perfective verb stem describing the movement of a current of air), from Proto-Athabaskan *tšʼʷəy ~ *tšʼʷi, from Pre-Proto-Athabaskan *kʼʷəy (“wind blows”). An air current is conceived as a moving thing, and the perfective form marking its arrival is the equivalent of the English present progressive “it is blowing.”
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This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “The ł- classifier is a verb morpheme, often denoting a transitive or causative aspect. Does this word still have any uses as a verb? Was this originally a verb, that is only ever used any more as a noun?”
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Pronunciation
Noun
níłchʼi
- air, breeze, wind[1]
- gas
- níłchʼi łikoní ― flammable gas
- spirit, benevolent spirits
- Níłchʼi Diyinii ― the Holy Spirit (Christianity)
Inflection
Synonyms
Derived terms
References
- ^ “The air or atmosphere in its entirety, including such air when in motion, conceived as having a holy quality and powers that are not acknowledged in Western culture.” — McNeley, James (1981) Holy Wind in Navajo Philosophy, Arizona: University of Arizona Press