GLOSSARY OF CHEROKEE WORDS
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Mooney, James
tsâlû or tsâlûñ (in the Lower dialect, tsârû)—tobacco; by comparison with kindred forms in other Iroquoian dialects the meaning “fire to hold in the mouth” seems to be indicated. Lanman spells it tso-lungh. See number 126 and page 187.
tsa′mehă—see tla′mehă.
tsă′nadiskâ′—for tsăndiskâĭ, “they say.”
tsana′sehâ′ĭ—so they say, they say about him. See number 118.
tsâne′nĭ—the scorpion lizard; also called gi′gă-danegi′ski, q. v. See number 59.
Tsanĭ—John.
Tsantăwû′—a masculine name which can not be analyzed.
Tsan-uga′sĭtă—“Sour John”; John Butler, a halfbreed Cherokee ball captain, formerly living on Nottely river. See number 122.
Tsan-usdi′—“Little John”; the Cherokee name for General John Sevier, and also the boy name of the chief John Ross, afterward known as Gu′wisguwĭ′, q. v. Sikwi′ă, a Cherokee attempt at “Sevier,” is a masculine name upon the East Cherokee reservation.
tsanu′sĭ′—see tlanu′sĭ′.
tsă′nuwă′—see tlă′nuwă′.
Tsa′răgĭ′—Cherokee; see page 182, “Tribal Synonymy.”
tsârû—see tsâlû.
Tsasta′wĭ—a noted hunter formerly living upon Nantahala river, in Macon county, North Carolina; the meaning of the name is doubtful. See number 122.
Tsatănu′gĭ (commonly spelled Chattanooga)—the Cherokee name for some point upon the creek entering Tennessee river at the city of Chattanooga, in Hamilton county, Tennessee. It has no meaning in the Cherokee language and appears to be of foreign origin. The ancient name for the site of the present city is Aʻtlă′nuwă, q. v. See number 124. Before the establishment of the town the place was known to the whites as Ross’ landing, from a store kept there by Lewis Ross, brother of the chief John Ross.
Tsatu′gĭ (commonly written Chattooga or Chatuga)—a name occurring in two or more places in the old Cherokee country, but apparently of foreign origin (see page 382). Possible Cherokee derivations are from words signifying respectively “he drank by sips,” from gatu′giă′, “I sip,” or “he has crossed the stream and come out upon the other side,” from gatu′gĭ, “I have crossed” etc. An ancient settlement of this name was on Chattooga river, a head-stream of Savannah river, on the boundary between South Carolina and Georgia; another appears to have been on upper Tellico river, in Monroe county, Tennessee; another may have been on Chattooga river, a tributary of the Coosa, in northwestern Georgia.
Tsâ′wă Gakskĭ—Joe Smoker, from Tsâwă, “Joe,” and gakskĭ, “smoker,” from ga′giskû, “I am smoking.” The Cherokee name for Chief Joel B. Mayes, of the Cherokee Nation west.
Tsăwa′sĭ—a Cherokee sprite. See number 78.
tsa′wehă—see tla′mehă.
tsayʼkû′—see tlay’kû′.
Tsek′sĭnĭ′—the Cherokee form for the name of General Andrew Jackson.
Tsĕsa′nĭ—Jessan, probably a derivative from Jesse; a masculine name upon the East Cherokee reservation.
Tsĕ′sĭ-Ska′tsĭ—“Scotch Jesse”; Jesse Reid, present chief of the East Cherokee, so called because of mixed Scotch ancestry.
tsetsăni′lĭ—“thy two elder brothers” (male speaking); my elder brother (male speaking), ûñgini′lĭ. See note to number 63.
Tsgâgûñ′yĭ—“Insect place,” from tsgâyă, insect, and yĭ, locative. A cave in the ridge eastward from Franklin, in Macon county, North Carolina. See number 13.
tsgâyă—insect, worm, etc. See page 308.
Tsĭkăma′gĭ—a name, commonly spelled Chickamauga, occurring in at least two places in the old Cherokee country, which has lost any meaning in Cherokee and appears to be of foreign origin. It is applied to a small creek at the head of Chattahoochee river, in White county, Georgia, and also to the district about the southern (not the northern) Chickamauga creek, coming into Tennessee river, a few miles above Chattanooga, in Hamilton county, Tennessee. In 1777 the more hostile portion of the Cherokee withdrew from the rest of the tribe and established here a large settlement, from which they removed about five years later to settle lower down the Tennessee in what were known as the Chickamauga towns or Five Lower towns. See page 54 and number 124.
tsĭkĭ′—a word which renders emphatic that which it follows: as â′stû, “very good,” âstû′ tsĭkĭ, “best of all.” See number 75.
tsĭkĭkĭ′—the katydid; the name is an onomatope.
tsĭ′kĭlilĭ′—the Carolina chickadee (Parus carolinensis); the name is an onomatope. See number 35.
Tsĭksi′tsĭ (Tûksi′tsĭ in dialectic form; commonly written Tuckasegee)—1. a former Cherokee settlement about the junction of the two forks of Tuckasegee, above Webster, in Jackson county, North Carolina (not to be confounded with Tĭkwăli′tsĭ, q. v.). 2. A former settlement on a branch of Brasstown creek of Hiwassee river, in Towns county, Georgia. The word has lost its meaning.
Tsĭ′nawĭ—a Cherokee wheelwright, perhaps the first in the Nation to make a spinning wheel and loom. The name can not be analyzed. See page 214.
tsĭne′û—I am picking it (something long) up; in the Lower and Middle dialects, tsĭnigi′û.
tsĭnigi′û—see tsĭne′û.
tsiska′gĭlĭ—the large red crawfish; the ordinary crawfish is called tsistû′na. See number 59.
tsi′skwa—bird.
tsiskwa′gwă—robin, from tsi′skwa, bird.
Tsiskwâ′hĭ—“Bird place,” from tsi′skwa, bird, and hĭ, locative. Birdtown settlement on the East Cherokee reservation, in Swain county, North Carolina.
tsiskwâ′yă—sparrow, literally “principal bird” (i. e., most widely distributed), from tsi′skwa, bird, and yâ, a suffix denoting principal or real.
Tsilalu′hĭ—“Sweet-gum place,” from tsila′lŭ′, sweet-gum (Liquidambar), and hĭ, locative. A former settlement on a small branch of Brasstown creek of Hiwassee river, just within the line of Towns county, Georgia. The name is incorrectly rendered Gumlog (creek).