GLOSSARY OF CHEROKEE WORDS
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Mooney, James
utset′stĭ—“he grins” (habitually). See sĭ′kwă utset′stĭ.
utsĭ′—her (his) mother; etsĭ′, agitsĭ′, my mother.
Utsi′dsătă′—“Corn-tassel,” “Thistle-head,” etc. It is used as a masculine name and was probably the Cherokee name of the chief known during the Revolutionary period as “Old Tassel.”
utsu′ʻgĭ—the tufted titmouse (Parus bicolor); also called u′stûtĭ, “topknot, or tip.” on account of its crest. See numbers 35 and 66. û′tsûtĭ′—fish. Cf. u′tsûtĭ, many. ûñwădâ′lĭ—store-house, provision house. See number 3 and notes.
Uñ′wădâ-tsuʻgilasûñ′—“Where the storehouse (ûñwâdâ′lĭ) was taken off.” Either Black rock or Jones knob, northeast of Webster, on the east line of Jackson county, in North Carolina. See number 122.
Uwagâ′hĭ (commonly written Ocoee)—“Apricot place,” from uwa′gă, the “apricot vine,” or “maypop,” (Passiflora incarnata), and hĭ, locative. A former important settlement on Ocoee river, near its junction with Hiwassee, about the present Benton, in Polk county, Tennessee.
uwâ′yĭ—hand, paw; generally used with the possessive suffix, as uwâye′nĭ, “his hand.”
uwe′la—liver.
uwe′năhĭ—rich; used also as a personal name as the equivalent of Richard. Cf. Tsuwe′năhĭ.
Uwʼtsûñ′tă,—“Bouncer” (habitual); from kʻtsĭ, “it is bouncing.” A traditional serpent described as moving by jerks like a measuring worm, to which also the name is applied. See number 55.
Uyâhye′—a high peak in the Great Smoky range, probably on the line between Swain county, North Carolina, and Sevier or Blount county, Tennessee. See number 75 and notes.
Uyʼgilâ′gĭ—abbreviated from Tsuyuʻgilâ′gĭ, “Where there are dams,” i. e., beaver dams; from guʻgilû′ûñskû′, “he is damming it.” 1. A former settlement on Oothcaloga (Ougillogy) creek of Oostanaula river, near the present Calhoun, in Gordon county, Georgia; 2. Beaverdam creek, west of Clarkesville, in Habersham county, Georgia.
Valleytown—see Gû′nahitûñ′yĭ.
Vengeance creek—see Gănsaʻti′yĭ.
Wachesa—see Watsi′sŭ.
wadâñ′—thanks!
wâ′dĭ—paint, especially red paint.
wâ′dige-askâ′lĭ—“his head (is) brown,” i. e., “brown-head,” from wâdige′ĭ, brown, brown-red, and askâ′lĭ, possessive of uskă′, head; the copperhead snake.
Wadi′yăhĭ—A feminine name of doubtful etymology. An expert basket-making woman among the East Cherokee, who died in 1895. She was known to the whites as Mrs Bushyhead. See page 179.
Wafford—see Tsuskwanûñ′năwa′tă.
Wa′gĭnsĭ′—The name of an eddy at the junction of the Little Tennessee and main Tennessee rivers, at Lenoir, in Loudon county, Tennessee. The town is now known to the Cherokee by the same name, of which the meaning is lost. See number 124.
wagulĭ′—whippoorwill; the name is an onomatope; the Delaware name is wekolis (Heckewelder).
Wahnenauhi—see Wani′năhĭ.
waʻhuhu′—the screech-owl (Megascops asio); see also tskĭlĭ′ and uguku′.
waʻka—cow; from the Spanish vaca, as is also the Creek waga and the Arapaho wakûch.
walâ′sĭ—the common green frog; there are different names for the bullfrog (kûnu′nŭ, q. v.) and for other varieties; warts are also called walâ′sĭ.
Walâsi′yĭ—“Frog place.” 1. A former settlement, known to the whites as Frogtown, upon the creek of the same name, north of Dahlonega, in Lumpkin county, Georgia. 2. Le Conte and Bullhead mountains in the Great Smoky range on the North Carolina-Tennessee line, together with the ridge extending into Sevier county, Tennessee, between the Middle and West forks of Little Pigeon river. See number 51 and notes.
walâs′-unûl′stĭ—“it fights frogs,” from walâ′sĭ, frog, and unûl′stĭ, “it fights” (habitually); gûʻlihû′, “I am fighting.” The Prosartes lanuginosa plant. See number 126.
Walâs′-unûlsti′yĭ—“Place of the plant walâs′-unûl′stĭ,” commonly known to the whites as Fightingtown, from a translation of the latter part of the name; a former settlement on Fightingtown creek, near Morganton, in Fannin county, Georgia. See number 125.
Walinĭ′—a feminine name, compounded from Walĭ, another form of Kwalĭ, “Polly,” with a suffix added for euphony.
Wane′-asûñ′tlûñyĭ—“Hickory footlog place,” from wane′ĭ, hickory, asûñtlûñ′ĭ (q. v.), footlog, bridge, and yĭ, locative. A former settlement, known to the whites as Hickory-log, on Etowah river, a short distance above Canton, in Cherokee county, Georgia.
Wani′năhĭ′—a feminine name of uncertain etymology; the Wahnenauhi of the Wahnenauhi manuscript.
Washington—see Wa′sitû′nă.
Wâ′sĭ—the Cherokee form for Moses.
Wa′sitû′nă, Wa′sûñtû′nă (different dialectic forms)—a Cherokee known to the whites as Washington, the sole survivor of a Removal tragedy. See page 158. The name denotes a hollow log (or other cylindrical object) lying on the ground at a distance; the root of the word is asi′ta, log, and the w prefixed makes it at a distance.
Wa′sulû′—a large red-brown moth which flies about the blossoming tobacco in the evening.
Watâ′gĭ (commonly written Watauga, also Watoga, Wattoogee, Whatoga, etc.)—a name occurring in two or more towns in the old Cherokee country; one was an important settlement on Watauga creek of Little Tennessee river, a few miles below Franklin, in Macon county, Tennessee; another was traditionally located at Watauga Old Fields, about the present Elizabethton, on Watauga river, in Carter county, Tennessee. See page 21. The meaning of the name is lost.
Watauga—see Watâ′gĭ.
Watsi′să—a prominent old Cherokee, known to the whites as Wachesa, a name which cannot be translated, who formerly lived on lower Beaverdam creek of Hiwassee river, below Murphy, in Cherokee county, North Carolina. From the fact that the Unicoi turnpike passed near his place it was locally known as the Wachesa trail.
waʻya—wolf; the name is an onomatope, intended as an imitation of the animal’s howl; cf. the Creek name, yähä.