GLOSSARY OF CHEROKEE WORDS.
The Cherokee language has the continental vowel sounds a, e, i, and u, but lacks o, which is replaced by a deep a. The obscure or short u is frequently nasalized, but the nasal sound is seldom heard at the end of a word. The only labial is m, which occurs in probably not more than half a dozen words in the Upper and Middle dialects, and is entirely absent from the Lower dialect, in which w takes its place. The characteristic l of the Upper and Middle dialects becomes r in the Lower, but no dialect has both sounds of these letters, but g and d are medials, approximating the sounds of k and t respectively. A frequent double consonant is ts, commonly rendered ch by the old traders.
A number of English words, with cross references, have been introduced into the glossary.
Chimney Rock.
“Like a monolith it rises
To a grand majestic height.”
adaʻlanunʻsti—a staff or cane.
adanʻta—soul.
adaʻwehi—a magician or supernatural being.
adaʻwehiʻyu—a very great magician; intensive form of adaʻwehi.
aʻgana—groundhog.
Aʻganstaʻta—“groundhog-sausage,” from aʻgana, ground-hog, and tsistaʻu, “I am pounding it,” understood to refer to pounding meat, etc., in a mortar, after having first crisped it before the fire. A war chief, noted in the Cherokee war of 1760, and prominent until about the close of the Revolution, known to the whites as Oconostota. Also the Cherokee name for Colonel Gideon Morgan of the war of 1812, for Washington Morgan, his son, of the Civil war, and now for a full-blood upon the reservation, known to the whites as Morgan Calhoun.
Aʻgan-uniʻtsi—“Ground-hog’s mother,” from aʻgana and uniʻtsi, their mother, plural of utsiʻ, his mother (etsiʻ, agitsiʻ, my mother). The Cherokee name of the Shawano captive, who, according to tradition, killed the great Uktena serpent and procured the Ulunsuʻti.
Agaweʻla—“Old Woman,” a formulistic name for corn or the spirit corn.
agayunʻli—for agayunlige, old, ancient.
agidaʻta—see edaʻta.
agidutu—see eduʻtu.
Agi′li—“He is rising,” possibly a contraction of an old personal name. Aginʻ-agi′li, “Rising-fawn.” Major George Lawrey, cousin of Sequoya, and assistant chief of the Cherokee Nation about 1840. Stanley incorrectly makes it “Keeth-la, or Dog” for gi′liʻ.
aginʻsi—see eniʻsi.
agiʻsi—female, applied usually to quadrupeds.
Agisʻ-eʻgwa—“Great Female,” possibly “Great Doe.” A being, probably an animal god invoked in the sacred formulas.
agitsiʻ—see etsiʻ.
Agitsta′tiʻyi—“where they stayed up all night,” from tsigitsunʻtihu, “I stay up all night.” A place in the Great Smoky range about the head of Noland creek, in Swain County, N. C.
Aguaquiri—see Guaquili.
Ahaluʻna—“Ambush,” Ahalununʻyi, “Ambush place,” or Uniʻhaluʻna, “where they ambushed,” from akaluʻga, “I am watching.” Soco gap, at the head of Soco creek, on the line between Swain and Haywood counties, N. C. The name is also applied to the lookout station for deer hunters.
ahanuʻlahi—“he is bearded,” from ahanuʻlahu, a beard.
Ahuʻludeʻgi—“He throws away the drum” (habitual), from ahuʻli, drum, and akwadeʻgu, “I am throwing it away” (round object). The Cherokee name of John Jolly, a noted chief and adopted father of Samuel Houston, about 1800.
ahyeliʻski—a mocker or mimic.
aktaʻ—eye; plural, diktaʻ.
aktaʻti—a telescope or field glass. The name denotes something with which to examine or look into closely, from aktaʻ, eye.
akwanduʻli—a song form for akwiduʻli (-hu,) “I want it.”
Akwan′ki—see Anakwanʻki.
Akwe′tiʻyi—a location on Tuckasegee river, in Jackson county, North Carolina; the meaning of the name is lost.
Alarka—see Yalagi.
aligaʻ—the red-horse fish (Moxostoma).
Alkiniʻ—the last woman known to be of Natchez decent and peculiarity among the East Cherokee; died about 1890. The name has no apparent meaning.
amaʻ—water; in the Lower dialect, awaʻ; cf. aʻma salt.
amayeʻhi—“dwelling in the water,” from amaʻ (amaʻyi, “in the water”) and ehuʻ, “I dwell,” “I live.”
Amaye′l-eʻgwa—“Great island,” from amaye′li, island (from amaʻ, water, and aye′li, “in the middle”) and eʻgwa, great. A former Cherokee settlement on Little Tennessee river, at Big island, a short distance below the mouth of Tellico, in Monroe county, Tenn. Timberlake writes it Mialaquo, while Bartram spells it Nilaque. Not to be confounded with Long-Island town below Chattanooga.
Amaye′li-gunahiʻta—“Long-island,” from amaye′li, island, and gunahiʻta, long. A former Cherokee settlement, known to the whites as Long-Island town, at the Long-island in Tennessee river, on the Tennessee-Georgia line. It was one of the Chickamauga towns (see Tsikamaʻgi).
amaʻyineʻhi—“dwellers in the water,” plural of amayeʻhi.
Anadaʻduntaski—“roasters,” i. e., cannibals; from gunʻtaskuʻ. “I am putting it (round) into the fire to roast.” The regular word for cannibals is Yunʻwiniʻgiski, q. v.
anagahunʻunskuʻ—the green-corn dance; literally, “they are having a green-corn dance”; the popular name is not a translation of the Cherokee word, which has no reference either to corn or dancing.
Anakwan′ki—the Delaware Indians; singular Akwan′ki, a Cherokee attempt at Wapanaqki, “Easterners,” the Algonquian name by which, in various corrupted forms, the Delawares are commonly known to the western tribes.
Anantooeah—see AniʻNunʻdaweʻgi.
a′neʻtsa, or anetsaʻgi—the ball-play.
a′netsaʻunski—a ball-player; literally, “a lover of the ball-play.”
aniʻ—a tribal and animate prefix.
aniʻdaʻwehi—plural of adaʻwehi.
aʻnigantiʻski—see dagan′tu.
AniʻGatageʻwi—one of the seven Cherokee clans. The name has now no meaning, but has been absurdly rendered “Blind savana,” from an incorrect idea that it is derived from Igaʻti, a swamp or savanna, and digeʻwi, blind.
Ani-Gilaʻhi—“Long-haired people,” one of the seven Cherokee clans; singular, Agilaʻhi. The word comes from agilaʻhi (perhaps connected with afi′lge-ni, “the back of (his) neck”), an archaic term denoting wearing the hair long or flowing loosely, and usually recognized as applying more particularly to a woman.
Aniʻ-Giliʻ—a problematic tribe, possibly the Congaree. The name is not connected with giʻliʻ, dog.
Aniʻ-Gusa—see AniʻKuʻsa.
aʻnigwa—soon after; dineʻtlana aʻnigwa, “soon after the creation.”
Aniʻ-Hyunʻtikwalaʻski—“The Thunders,” i. e., thunder, which in Cherokee belief, is controlled and caused by a family of supernaturals. The word has reference to making a rolling sound; cf. tikwaleʻlu, a wheel, hence a wagon; amaʻ-tikwalelunyi, “rolling water place,” applied to a cascade where the water falls along the surface of the rock; ahyunʻtikwalaʻstihuʻ, “it is thundering,” applied to the roar of a railroad train or waterfall.
Aniʻ-Kawiʻ—“Deer people,” one of the seven Cherokee clans; the regular form for deer is a′wiʻ.
Aniʻ-Kawiʻta—the Lower Creeks, from Kawiʻta or Coweta, their former principal town on Chattahoochee river near the present Columbus, Ga.; the Upper Creeks on the head streams of Alabama river were distinguished as Aniʻ-Kuʻsa (q. v.) A small creek of Little Tennessee river above Franklin, in Macon county, N. C., is now known as Coweeta creek.
Aniʻ-Kituʻhwagi—“Kituʻhwa people,” from Kituʻhwa (q. v.), an ancient Cherokee settlement.
Aniʻ-Kuʻsa or Aniʻ-Guʻsa—the Creek Indians, particularly the Upper Creeks on the waters of Alabama river; singular AʻKuʻsa or Coosa (Spanish, Coca, Cossa) their principal ancient town.
Aniʻ-Kutaʻni (also Aniʻ-Kwataʻni, or incorrectly, Nicotani)—traditional Cherokee priestly society or clan exterminated in a popular uprising.
aninaʻhilidahi—“creatures that fly about,” from tsinaiʻli, “I am flying,” tsinaʻilidaʻhu, “I am flying about.” The generic term for birds and flying insects.
Aniʻ-Na′tsi—abbreviated Anintsi, singular A-Na′tsi. The Natchez Indians. From coincidence with naʻtsi, pine, the name has been incorrectly rendered “Pine Indians,” whereas it is really a Cherokee plural name of the Natchez.
Aninʻtsi—see AniʻNa′tsi.
AniʻNundaweʻgi—singular, Nunʻdaweʻgi; the Iroquois, more particularly the Seneca, from Nundawao, the name by which the Seneca call themselves. Adair spells it Anantooeah. The tribe was also known as Aniʻ-Seʻnika.
Aniʻ-Sahaʻni—one of the seven Cherokee clans; possibly an archaic form for “Blue people,” from sa′kaʻni, saʻkaʻnigeʻi, blue.
Aniʻ-Saʻni, Aniʻ-Sawahaʻni—see Aniʻ-Sawanuʻgi.
Aniʻ-Sawanuʻgi (singular Sawanuʻgi)—the Shawano Indians. Aniʻ-saʻni and Aniʻ-Sawahaʻni may be the same.
Aniʻ-Seʻnika—see AniʻNundaweʻgi.
Anisgaʻya Tsunsdiʻ (ga)—“The Little Men”; the Thunder Boys in Cherokee mythology.
Aniʻ-sgayaiyi—“Men town” (?), a traditional Cherokee settlement on Valley river, in Cherokee county, North Carolina.
Aniʻsgiʻna—plural of asgiʻna, q. v.
Aniʻ-Skalaʻli—the Tuscarora Indian; singular, Skalaʻli or A-Skalaʻli.
Aniʻskwaʻni—Spaniards; singular, Askwaʻni.
Aniʻ-Suwaʻli—or Aniʻ-Swqaʻla—the Suala, Sara or Cheraw Indians, formerly about the headwaters of Broad river, North Carolina, the Xuala province of the De Soto chronicle, and Joara or Juada of the later Pardo narrative.
Aniʻtaʻgwa—the Catawba Indians; singular, Ataʻgwa or Tagwa.
Aniʻ-Tsaʻguhi—the Cherokee clan, transformed to bears according to tradition. Swimmer’s daughter bears the name Tsaguhi, which is not recognized as distinctively belonging to either sex.
Aniʻ-Tsaʻlagiʻ—the Cherokee.
Aniʻ-Tsa′ta—the Choctaw Indians; singular, Tsa′ta.
Aniʻ-Tsiʻksu—the Chickasaw Indians; singular, Tsiʻksu.
Aniʻ-Tsiʻskwa—“Bird people”; one of the seven Cherokee clans.
Aniʻ-Tsuʻtsa—“The Boys,” from atsuʻtsa, boy; the Pleiades.
Aniʻ-Waʻdi—“Paint people”; one of the seven Cherokee clans.
Aniʻ-Wa′dihiʻ—“Place of the Paint people or clan”; Paint town, a Cherokee settlement on lower Soco creek, within the reservation in Jackson and Swain counties, North Carolina. It takes its name from the Aniʻ-Waʻdi or Paint clan.
aniʻwaniʻski—the bugle weed, Lycopus virginicus; literally, “the talk” or “talkers,” from tsiwaʻnihu, “I am talking,” awaniski, “he talks habitually.”
Aniʻ-Wasaʻsi—the Osage Indians; singular, Wasaʻsi.
Aniʻ-Waʻya—“Wolf people”; the most important of the seven clans of the Cherokee.
Aniʻ-Yunʻwiyaʻ—Indians, particularly Cherokee Indians; literally “principal or real people,” from yunwi, person, ya, a suffix implying principal or real, and aniʻ, the tribal prefix.
Aniʻ-Yuʻtsi—the Yuchi or Uchee Indians; singular, Yuʻtsi.
Annie Ax—see Sadayiʻ.
Aquone—a post-office on Nantahala river, in Mason county, North Carolina, site of the former Fort Scott. Probably a corruption of egwani, river.
Arch, John—see Atsi.
Asaʻgwalihuʻ—a pack or burden; asaʻgwal luʻ, or asaʻgwi liʻ, “there is a pack on him.”
asehiʻ—surely.
Aseʻnika—singular of Aniʻ-Seʻnika.
asgaʻya—man.
asgaʻya Giʻgagei—the “Red Man”; the Lightning spirit.
asgiʻna—a ghost, either human or animal; from the fact that ghosts are commonly supposed to be malevolent, the name is frequently rendered “devil.”
Asheville—see Kasduʻyi and Untaʻkiyastiʻyi.
asi—the sweat lodge and occasional winter sleeping apartment of the Cherokee and other southern tribes. It was a low built structure of logs covered with earth and from its closeness and the fire usually kept smoldering within was known to the old traders as the “hot house.”
asiyuʻ (abbreviated siyuʻ)—good; the common Cherokee salute; gaʻsiyuʻ, “I am good”; hasiyuʻ, “thou art good”; aʻsiyu, “he (it) is good”; astu, “very good.”
Askwaʻni—a Spaniard. See Aniʻskwaʻni.
astuʻ—very good; astu tsikiʻ, very good, best of all.
Astuʻgataʻga—A Cherokee lieutenant in the Confederate service killed in 1862. The name may be rendered, “Standing in the doorway,” but implies that the man himself is the door or shutter; it has no first person; gataʻga, “he is standing”; stuti, a door or shutter; stuhu, a closed door or passage; stugiʻsti, a key, i. e., something with which to open the door.
asunʻtli, asuntlunʻyu—a footlog or bridge; literally, “log lying across,” from asiʻta, log.
ataʻ—wood; ataʻya, “principal wood,” i. e., oak; cf. Muscogee iti, wood.
Ataʻ-gul kaluʻ—a noted Cherokee chief, recognized by the British government as the head chief or “emperor” of the Nation, about 1760 and later, and commonly known to the whites as the Little Carpenter (Little Cornplanter, by mistake, in Haywood). The name is frequently spelled Atta-kulla-kulla, Ata-kullakulla or Ata-culculla. It may be rendered “Leaning wood,” from ataʻ, “Wood” and gul kalu, a verb implying that something long is leaning, without sufficient support, against some other object; it has no first person form. Bartram describes him as “A man of remarkably small stature, slender and of a delicate frame, the only instance I saw in the Nation; but he is a man of superior abilities.”
Ataʻgwa—a Catawba Indian.
Atahiʻta—abbreviated from Atahitunʻyi, “Place where they shouted,” from gataʻhiuʻ, “I shout,” and yi, locative. Waya gap, on the ridge west of Franklin, Macon county, North Carolina. The map name is probably from the Cherokee wa ya, wolf.
Ata-Kullakulla—see Ataʻ-gul kaluʻ.
aʻtali—mountain; in the Lower dialect aʻtari, whence the “Ottare” or Upper Cherokee of Adair. The form aʻtali is used only in composition; and mountain in situ is atalunyi or gatuʻsi.
aʻtali-guliʻ—“it climbs the mountain,” i. e., “mountain-climber”; the ginseng plant, Ginseng quinquefolium; from aʻtali, mountain, and guliʻ, “it climbs” (habitually); tsilahiʻ or tsiliʻ, “I am climbing.” Also called in the sacred formulas, Yunʻwi Usdiʻ, “Little man.”
Atalaʻnuwaʻ—“Tlaʻnuwa hole”; the Cherokee name of Chattanooga, Tennessee (see tsatanuʻgi); originally applied to a bluff on the south side of the Tennessee river, at the foot of the present Market street.
aʻtaluluʻ—unfinished, premature, unsuccessful; whence utaluʻli, “it is not yet time.”
Ataʻluntiʻski—a chief of the Arkansas Cherokee about 1818, who had originally emigrated from Tennessee. The name, commonly spelled Tollunteeskee, Taluntiski, Tallotiskee, Tallotuskee, etc., denotes one who throws some living object from a place, as an enemy from a precipice.
Aʻtari—see aʻtali.
atasiʻ (or atasaʻ, in a dialectic form)—a war-club.
atatsunʻski—stinging; literally, “he stings” (habitually).
Aʻtsi—the Cherokee name of John Arch, one of the earliest native writers in the Sequoya characters. The word is simply an attempt at the English name Arch.
atsiʻla—fire; in the Lower dialect, atsiʻra.
Atsiʻla-waʻi—“Fire—”; a mountain sometimes known as Rattlesnake knob, about two miles northeast of Cherokee, Swain county, N. C.
Atsilʻ-dihyeʻgi—“Fire-Carrier”; apparently the Cherokee name for the will-of-the-wisp. As is usually the case in the Cherokee compounds, the verbal form is plural (“it carries fire”); the singular form is ahyeʻgi.
Atsilʻ-sunti (abbreviated tsilʻ-sunti)—fleabane (Erigeron canadense); the name signifies “material with which to make fire,” from atsiʻla, fire, and gasunti, gatsunti or gatlunti, material with which to make something, from fasunʻsku (or gatlunʻsku), “I make it.” The plant is also called ihyaʻga.
atsilʻ-tluntuʻtsi—“fire-panther.” A meteor or comet.
Aʻtsinaʻ—cedar.
Aʻtsinaʻ-k taʻum—“Hanging cedar place”; from aʻtsinaʻ, cedar, and k taʻun, “where it (long) hangs down”; a Cherokee name for the old Taskigi town on the Little Tennessee river in Monroe county, Tenn.
Atsiʻra—see atsiʻla.
Atsunʻsta tiʻyi (abbreviated Atsunʻsta ti)—“Fire-light place,” referring to the “fire-hunting” method of killing deer in the river at night. The proper form for Chestatee river, near Dahlonega, in Lumpkin county, Ga.
Attakullakulla—see Ata-gul kaluʻ.
awaʻ—see amaʻ.
awaʻhili—eagle; particularly Aquila Chrysaetus, distinguished as the “pretty-feathered eagle.”
awiʻ—deer; also sometimes written and pronounced ahawiʻ; the name is sometimes applied to the large horned beetle, the flying stag of early writers.
awiʻ-ahanuʻlahi—goat; literally “bearded deer.”
awiʻ-ahyeliʻski—“deer mocker”; the deer bleat, a sort of whistle used by hunters to call the doe by imitating the cry of the fawn.
awiʻ-aktaʻ—“deer eye”; the Rudbeckia or black-eyed Susan.
awiʻ-eʻgwa (abbreviated aw-eʻgwa)—the elk, literally “great deer.”
awiʻ-unadeʻna—sheep; literally “woolly deer.”
AwiʻUsdiʻ—“Little Deer,” the mythic chief of the Deer tribe.
Ax, John—see Itaguʻnahi.
awe li—half, middle, in the middle.
Ayphwaʻsi—the proper form of the name commonly written Hiwassee. It signifies a savanna or meadow and was applied to two (or more) former Cherokee settlements. The more important, commonly distinguished as Ayuhwaʻsi Egwaʻhi or Great Hiwassee, was on the north bank of Hiwassee river at the present Savannah ford above Columbus, in Polk county, Tenn. The other was farther up the same river, at the junction of Peachtree creek, above Murphy, in Cherokee county, N. C. Lanman writes it Owassa.
Ayrate—see eʻladiʻ.
Aysʻsta—“The Spoiler,” from tsiyaʻstihu, “I spoil it”; cf. uyaʻi, bad. A prominent woman and informant on the East Cherokee reservation.
Ayunʻini—“Swimmer”; literally, “he is swimming,” from gayuniniʻ, “I am swimming.” A principal priest and informant of the East Cherokee, died in 1899.
Ayulsuʻ—see Dayulsunʻyi.
Beaverdam—see Uy′gilaʻgi.
Big-Cove—see Kaʻlanunʻyi.
Big-Island—see Amaye′l-eʻgwa.
Big-Witch—see Tskil-eʻgwa.
Bird-Town—see Tsiskwaʻhi.
Bloody-Fellow—see Iskagua.
Blythe—see Diskwani.
Black-fox—see Inaʻli.
Boudinot, Elias—see Galagiʻna.
Bowl, The; Bowles, Colonel—see Diwali.
Brass—see Untsaiyiʻ.
Breadth, The—see Unliʻta.
Briertown—see Kanuʻgulaʻyi.
Buffalo (creek)—see Yunsaʻi.
Bull-Head—see Sukwaleʻna.
Butler, John—see Tsanʻ-ugaʻsita.
Cade’s Cove—see Tsiyaʻhi.
Canacaught—“Canacaught, the great Conjurer,” mentioned as a Lower Cherokee chief in 1684; possibly kanegwaʻti, the water-moccasin snake.
Canaly—see hiʻginaʻlii.
Canasagua—see Gansaʻgi.
Cannastion, Cannostee—see Kanaʻsta.
Canuga—see Kanuʻga.
Cartoogaja—see Gatuʻgitseʻyi.
Cataluchee—see Gadaluʻtsi.
Cauchi—a place, apparently in the Cherokee county, visited by Pardo in 1567.
Caunasaita—given as the name of a Lower Chief in 1684; possibly for Kanunsiʻta, “dogwood.”
Chalaque—see Tsaʻlagi.
Chattanooga—see Tsatanuʻgi.
Chattooga, Chatuga—see Tsatuʻgi.
Cheeowhee—see Tsiyaʻhi.
Cheerake—see Tsaʻlagi.
Cheraw—see Aniʻ-Suwaʻli.
Cheowa—see Tsiyaʻhi.
Cheowa Maximum—see Schwateʻyi.
Cheraqui—see Tsaʻlagi.
Cherokee—see Tsaʻlagi.
Chestatee—see Atsunʻsta tiʻyi.
Chestua—see Tsistuʻyi.
Cheucunsene—see Tsiʻkamaʻgi.
Chimney Tops—see Duniʻskwa lgunʻi.
Chisca—mentioned in the De Soto narratives as a mining region in the Cherokee country. The name may have a connection with Tsiʻskwa, “bird,” possibly Tsiskwaʻhi, “Bird place.”
Choastea—see Tsistuʻyi.
Chopped Oak—see Digaluʻyatunʻyi.
Choquata—see Itsaʻti.
Citico—see Siʻtikuʻ.
Clear-sky—see Iskagua.
Clennuse—see Tlanusiʻyi.
Cleveland—see Tsistetsiʻyi.
Coca—see Aniʻ-Kuʻsa.
Coco—see Kukuʻ.
Cohutta—see Gahuʻti.
Colanneh, Colona—see Kaʻlanu.
Conasauga—see Gansaʻgi.
Conneross—see Kawanʻ-uraʻsunyi.
Coosawatee—see Kuʻsawetiʻyi.
Cooweescoowee—see Guʻwisguwiʻ.
Coosa—see Aniʻ-Kuʻsa, Kusa.
Corani—see Kaʻlanu.
Coweeʻ—see Kawiʻyi.
Coweeta, Coweta—see Aniʻ-Kawiʻta.
Coyatee (variously spelled Cawatie, Coiatee, Coytee, Coytoy, Kai-a-tee)—a former Cherokee settlement on Little Tennessee river, some ten miles below the junction of Tellico, about the present Coytee post-office in Loudon county, Tennessee.
Creek-path—see Kuʻsa-nunnaʻhi.
Crow-town—see Kagunʻyi.
Cuhtahlatah—a Cherokee woman noted in the Wahnenauhi manuscript as having distinguished herself by bravery in battle. The proper form may have some connection with gatunʻlati, “wild hemp.”
Cullasagee—see Kulseʻtsiʻyi.
Cullowhee, Currahee—see Gulahiʻyi.
Cuttawa—see Kituʻhwa.
Dagan tu—“he makes it rain”; from agaʻska, “it is raining,” agaʻna, “it has begun to rain”; a small variety of lizard whose cry is said to presage rain. It is also called aʻnigantiʻski, “they make it rain” (plural form), or rain-maker.
dagul ku—the American white-fronted goose. The name may be an onomatope.
daguʻna—the fresh-water mussel; also a variety of face pimples.
Dagunʻhi—“Mussel place,” from daguʻna, mussel, and hi, locative. The Mussel shoals on Tennessee river, in northwestern Alabama. It was sometimes called also simply Tsu stanalunʻyi, “Shoal’s place.”
Daguʻnawaʻlahi—“Mussel-liver place,” from daguʻna, mussel, uweʻla, liver, and hi, locative; the Cherokee name for the site of Nashville, Tenn. No reason can now be given for the name.
Dahlonega—A town in Lumpkin county, Ga., near which the first gold was mined. A mint was established there in 1838. The name is from the Cherokee dalaʻnigeʻi, yellow, whence ateʻla-dalaʻ-nigeʻi, “yellow money,” i. e., gold.
daksawaʻihu—“he is shedding tears.”
dakwaʻ—a mythic great fish; also the whale.
Dakwaʻi—“dakwa place,” from a tradition of a dakwaʻ in the river at that point. A former Cherokee settlement, known to the traders as Toqua or Toco, on Little Tennessee river, about the mouth of Toco creek in Monroe county, Tenn. A similar name and tradition attaches to a spot on the French Broad river, about six miles above the Warm springs, in Buncombe county, N. C.
dakwaʻnitlastesti—“I shall have them on my legs for garters”; from anitlaʻsti (plural dinitlaʻsti), garter; d-, initial plural; akwa, first person particle; and esti, future suffix.
daʻlikstaʻ—“vomiter,” from dagikʻstihuʻ, “I am vomiting,” dalikstaʻ, “he vomits” (habitually); the form is plural. The spreading adder (Heterodon), also sometimes called kwandayaʻhu, a word of uncertain etymology.
Daʻ nagasta—for Daʻ nawa-gastaʻya, “Sharp-war,” i. e., “Eager-warrior;” a Cherokee woman’s name.
Daʻ nawa-(a)sa tsunʻyi, “War-ford,” from daʻ nawa, war, and asa tsunʻyi, “a crossing-place or ford.” A ford on Cheowa river about three miles below Robbinsville, in Graham county, N. C.
Dandaʻganuʻ—“Two looking at each other,” from detsiʻganuʻ, “I am looking at him.” A former Cherokee settlement, commonly known as Lookout Mountain town, on Lookout Mountain creek, near the present Trenton, Dade county, Ga. One of the Chickamauga towns (see Tsiʻkamaʻgi), so-called on account of the appearance of the mountains facing each other across the Tennessee river at Chattanooga.
Daʻsi giyaʻgi—an old masculine personal name, of doubtful etymology, but commonly rendered by the traders “Shoe-boots,” possibly referring to some peculiar style of moccasin or leggin. A chief known to the whites as Shoe-boots is mentioned in the Revolutionary records. Chief Lloyd Welch, of the eastern band, was known in the tribe as Daʻsi giyaʻgi, and the same name is now used by the East Cherokee as the equivalent of the name Lloyd.
Daʻskwitunʻyi—“Rafter’s Place,” from daskwitunʻi, rafters, and yi, locative. A former settlement on Tusquittee creek, near Hayesville, in Clay county, North Carolina.
dasunʻtali—ant; dasunʻtali, “stinging ant,” the large red cowant (Myrmica?), also called sometimes, on account of its hard body-case, nunʻyunuʻwi, “stone-clad,” after the fabulous monster.
Datleʻyastaʻi—“where they fell down,” a point on Tuckasegee river, a short distance above Webster, in Jackson county, North Carolina.
datsi—a traditional water-monster.
Datsiʻyi—“Datsi place”; a place on Little Tennessee river, near junction of Eagle creek, in Swain county, North Carolina.
Datsuʻnalagunʻyi—“where there are tracks or footprints,” from utaʻsinunʻyi or ulasgunʻyi, footprint. Track Rock gap, near Blairsville, Georgia. Also sometimes called Deʻgayelunʻha, “place of branded marks.”
daʻyi—beaver.
Dayulsunʻyi—“place where they cried,” a spot on the ridge at the head of Tuckasegee river, in Jackson county, North Carolina; so-called from an old tradition.
daʻyuniʻsi—“beaver’s grandchild,” from dayi, beaver, and uniʻsi, son’s child of either sex. The water beetle or mellow bug.
Degal gunʻyi—a cairn, literally “where they are piled up”; a series of cairns on the south side of Cheowa river, in Graham county, N. C.
Deʻgataʻga—The Cherokee name of General Stamd Watie and of a prominent early western chief known to the whites as Takatoka. The word is derived from tsitaʻga, “I am standing,” da nitaʻga “they are standing together,” and conveys the subtle meaning of two persons standing together and so closely united in sympathy as to form but one human body.
Deʻgayelunʻha—see Datsuʻnalagunʻyi.
detsanunʻli—an enclosure or piece of level ground cleared for ceremonial purposes; applied more particularly to the green-corn dance ground. The word has a plural form, but cannot be certainly analyzed.
Deʻtsata—a Cherokee sprite.
detsinuʻlahunguʻ—“I tried, but failed.”
Didalaskiʻyi—“Showering place.” In the story (number 17) the name is understood to mean “the place where it rains fire.” It signifies literally, however, the place where it showers, or comes down, and lodges upon something animate and has no definite reference to fire (atsiʻla) or rain (afaska, “it is raining”); degalaskuʻ, “they are showering down and lodging upon him.”
Didaʻskastiʻyi—“where they were afraid of each other,” a spot on Little Tennessee river, near the mouth of Alarka creek, in Swain county, N. C.
digaʻgwaniʻ—the mud-hen or didapper. The name is plural form and implies “lame,” or “crippled in the legs” (cf. detsiʻnigwaʻna, “I am kneeling”), probably from the bouncing motion of the bird when in the water. It is also the name of a dance.
Digaʻkatiʻyi—see Gakatiʻyi.
diʻgalungunʻyi—“where it rises, or comes up”; the east. The sacred term is Nundaʻyi, q. v.
digalunʻlatiyun—a height, one of a series, from galunʻlati, “above.”
Digaluʻyatunʻyi—“where it is gashed (with hatchets)”; from tsiluʻyu, “I am cutting (with a chopping stroke),” di, plural prefix, and yi, locative. The Chopped Oak, formerly east of Clarkesville, Ga.
Diganeʻski—“he picks them up” (habitually), from tsineʻu, “I am picking it up.” A Cherokee Union soldier in the Civil War.
digiʻgageʻi—the plural of giʻgageʻi, red.
diguʻlanahiʻta—for diguʻli-anahiʻta, “having long ears,” “long-eared”; from gule, “ear” and gunahiʻta, “long.”
Dihyunʻdulaʻ—“sheaths,” or “scabbards”; singular ahyunʻdulaʻ, “a gun-sheath,” or other scabbard. The probable correct form of a name which appears in Revolutionary documents as “Untoola, or Gum Rod.”
Diktaʻ—plural of Aktaʻ, eye.
dilaʻ—skunk.
dilstaʻyati—“scissors”; the water-spider (Dolomedes).
dindaʻskwateʻski—the violet; the name signifies, “they pull each others' heads off.”
dineʻtlana—the creation.
di nuski—“the breeder”; a variety of smilax brier.
Disgaʻgistiʻyi—“where they gnaw”; a place on Cheowa river, in Graham county, N. C.
diskwa ni—“chestnut bread,” i. e., a variety of bread having chestnuts mixed with it. The Cherokee name of James Blythe, interpreter and agency clerk.
Distaiʻyi—“they are strong,” plural of astaiʻyi, “strong or tough.” The Tephrosia or devil’s shoestring.
ditaʻstayeski—“a barber,” literally “one who cuts things (as with scissors), from tsistaʻyu, “I cut.” The cricket (talaʻtu) is sometimes so-called.
Diwaʻli—“Bowl,” a prominent chief of the western Cherokee, known to the whites as The Bowl, or Colonel Bowles, killed by the Texans in 1839. The chief mentioned may have been another of the same name.
diyaʻhali (or duyaʻhali)—the alligator lizard (Sceloporue undulatus).
Diyaʻhaliʻyi—“Lizard’s place,” from diyaʻhali, lizard, and yi, locative. Joanna Bald, a mountain at the head of Valley river on the line between Cherokee and Graham counties, North Carolina.
Double-Head—see Tal-tsuʻskaʻ.
Dragging-Canoe—see Tsiʻyu-gunsiʻni.
Dudunʻleksunʻyi—“where its legs were broken off”; a place on Tuckasegee river, a few miles above Webster, in Jackson county, N. C.
Dugiluʻyi (abbreviated Dugiluʻ, and commonly written Tugaloo, or sometimes Toogelah or Toogoola)—a name occurring in several places in the old Cherokee country, the best known being Tugaloo river, so-called from a former Cherokee settlement of that name situated at the junction of Toccoa creek with the main stream, in Habersham county, Ga. The word is of uncertain etymology; but seems to refer to a place at the forks of a stream.
Dukasʻi, Dukwasʻi—The correct form of the name commonly written Toxaway, applied to a former Cherokee settlement in S. C., and the creek upon which it stood, and extreme headstream of Keowee river having its source in Jackson county, N. C. The meaning of the name is lost, although it has been wrongly interpreted to mean “place of shedding tears.”
Dulastunʻyi—“Potsherd place.” A former Cherokee settlement on Nottely river in Cherokee county, North Carolina.
duleʻtsi—“kernels,” a goitrous swelling upon the throat.
duluʻsi—a variety of frog found upon the headwaters of Savannah river.
Duniya ta lunʻyi—“where there are shelves, or flat places,” from aya teʻni, flat, whence daʻya tana lunʻi, a shelf, and yi, locative. A gap on the Great Smoky range, near Clingman’s dome, Swain county, N. C.
Duniduʻlalunʻyi—“where they made arrows”; a place on Straight creek, a headstream of Oconaluftee river, in Swain county, N. C.
Duniʻskwa lgunʻi—the double peak known as the Chimney Tops, in Great Smoky Mountains about the head of Deep creek, in Swain county, N. C. On the north side is the pass known as Indian gap. The name signifies a “forked antler,” from uskwa lgu, antler, but indicates that the antler is attached in place, as though the deer itself were concealed below.
Duʻstayalunʻyi—“where it made a noise as of thunder or shooting,” apparently referring to a lightning strike (detsistayaʻhihu, “I make a shooting or thundering noise,” might be a first person form used by the personified Thundergod); a spot on Hiwassee river, about the junction of Shooting creek, near Hayesville, in Clay county, N. C. A former settlement along the creek bore the same name.
duʻstuʻ—a species of frog, appearing very early in spring; the name is intended for an onomatope. It is the correct form of the name of the chief noted by McKenney and Hall as “Tooantuh or Spring Frog.”
Dutch—see Tatsiʻ.
duwe ga—a spring lizard.
Eagle Dance—see Tsugiduʻli ulsgiʻsti.
Eastinaulee—see Uʻstanaʻli.
Echota, New—see Gansaʻgi.
edata—my father (Upper dialect); the Middle and Lower dialect form is agidaʻta.
Ediʻhi—“He goes about” (habitually); a masculine name.
edutu—my maternal grandfather (Upper dialect); the Middle and Lower dialect form is agidu tu; cf. enisi.
egwa—great; cf. utanu.
egwani—river.
Egwanulti—“By the river,” from egwa ni, river, and nulati or nulti, near, beside. The proper form of Oconaluftee, the name of the river flowing thru the East Cherokee reservation in Swain and Jackson Counties, N. C. The town, Oconaluftee, mentioned by Bartram as existing about 1775, was probably on the lower course of the river at the present Birdtown, on the reservation, where was formerly a considerable mound.
ela—earth, ground.
eladi—low, below; in the Lower dialect eradi, whence the Ayrata or Lower Cherokee of Adair, as distinguished from the Ottara (atari, atali) or Upper Cherokee.
elanti—a song form for eladi, q. v.
Elatseʻyi, (abbreviated Elatse)—“Green (verdant) earth,” from ela, earth, and itse yi, green, from fresh-springing vegetation. The name of several former Cherokee settlements, commonly known to the whites as Ellijay, Elejoy or Allagae. One of these was upon the headwaters of Keowee river in S. C.; another was on Ellijay creek of Little Tennessee river, near the present Franklin, in Macon Co., N. C.; another was about the present Ellijay in Gilmer Co., Ga.; and still another was on Ellijay creek of Little river, near the present Maryville, in Blount Co., Tenn.
Elawa diyi (abbreviated Elawa di)—“Red-earth place,” from ela, earth, wadi, brown-red or red paint, and yi, the locative. 1. The Cherokee name of Yellow-Hill settlement, now officially known as Cherokee, the post office and agency headquarters for the East Cherokee, on Oconaluftee river, in Swain Co., N. C. 2. A former council ground known in history as Red Clay; at the site of the present village of that name in Whitfield Co., Ga., adjoining the Tennessee line.
Ellijay—see Elatseʻyi.
eni si—my paternal grandfather (Upper dialect); the Middle and Lower dialect form is agani si, cf. edutu.
Eskaqua—see Iskagua.
Estanaula, Estinaula—see Uʻstanaʻli.
Etawa ha tsistatlaʻski—“Deadwood-lighter,” a traditional Cherokee conjurer.
eti—old, long ago.
Etowah—see Iʻtawaʻ.
Etsaiyi—see Untsaiyi.
etsi—my mother (Upper dialect); the Middle and Lower dialect form is agitsi.
Euharlee—see Yuhaʻli.
Feather dance—see Tsugiduʻli ulsgiʻsti.
Fightingtown—see Walasʻ-unulsti yi.
Flax-toter—see Taleʻdanigiʻski.
Flying-squirrel—see Kaʻlahuʻ.
Frogtown—see Walasiʻyi.
Gadaluʻla—the proper name of the mountain known to the whites as Yonah (from yanu, bear); or upper Chattahoochee river, in White Co., Ga. The name has no connection with Tallulah (see Talulu) and cannot be translated.
Gadaluʻtsi—in the corrupted form of Cataluchee this appears on the map as the name of a peak, or rather a ridge, on the line between Swain and Haywood counties, N. C., and of a creek running down on the Haywood side into Big Pigeon river. It is properly the name of the ridge only, and seems to refer to a “fringe standing erect,” apparently from the appearance of the timber growing in streaks along the side of the mountain; from wadaluʻyata, fringe, gaduʻta, “standing up in a row or series.”
gahawiʻsiti—parched corn.
Gahuti (Gahuʻta and Gwahuʻti in dialect forms)—Cohutta mountains in Murray Co., Ga. The name comes from gahutaʻyi, “ashed roof supported on poles”, and refers to a fancied resemblance in the summit.
Gakatiʻyi—“place of setting fire”; something spoken in the plural form, Digaʻkatiʻyi, “place of the setting free.” A point on Tuckasegee river, about three miles above Bryson City, in Swain Co., N. C.
gaktunʻta—an injunction, command or rule, more particularly a prohibition or ceremonial tabu. Tsigaʻteʻgu. “I am observing an injunction or tabu”; adakteʻgi, “he is under tabu regulations.”
Galagiʻna—a male deer (buck) or turkey (gobbler); in the first sense the name is sometimes used also for the large horned beetle (Dynastes tityus). The Indian name of Elias Boudinot, first Cherokee editor.
galiʻsgisidaʻhu—“I am dancing about”; from galiʻsgia, “I am dancing,” and edahu, “I am going about.”
galunkwʻtiʻyo—honored; sacred; used in the bible to mean holy, hallowed.
galunʻlati—above, on high.
ganeʻga—skin.
ganidawaʻski—“the champion catchfly” or “rattlesnake’s master” (Silene stellata); the name signifies “it disjoints itself,” from ganidawskuʻ, “it is unjointing itself,” on account of the peculiar manner in which the dried stalk breaks off at the joints.
Gansagi (or Gansagiyi)—the name of several former settlements in the old Cherokee country; it cannot be analyzed. One of this name was upon Tuckasegee river, a short distance above the present Webster, in Jackson Co., N. C.; another was on the lower part of Canasauga creek, in McMinn Co., Tenn.; a third was at the junction of Conasauga and Coosawatee rivers, where afterwards was located the Cherokee capital, New Echota, in Gordon Co., Ga.; a fourth, mentioned in the De Soto narratives as Canasoga or Canasagua, was located in 1540 on the upper Chattahoochee river, possibly in the neighborhood of Kennesaw mountain, Ga.
Gansaʻtiʻyi—“robbing place,” from tsinaʻsahunsku, “I am robbing him.” Vengeance creek of Valley river in Cherokee Co., N. C. The name vengeance was originally a white man’s nickname for an old Cherokee woman, of forbidding aspect, who lived there before the Removal.
Ganseʻti—a rattle; as the Cherokee dance rattle is made from the gourd, the masculine name, Ganseʻti, is usually rendered by the whites, “rattling-gourd.”
gatausti—the wheel and stick of the Southern tribes, incorrectly called nettecwaw by Timberlake.
Gategwaʻ—for Gategwaʻhi, possibly a contraction of Igat(I)-egwaʻhi, “Great-swamp, “thicket place.” A high peak southeast from Franklin, Macon Co., N. C., and perhaps identical with Fodderstack mountain.
gaʻtsu—see hatluʻ.
Gatuʻgitseʻyi (abbreviated Gatuʻgitseʻ)—“New-settlement place,” from gatuʻgi or agatuʻgi, town, settlement, itsehi, new, especially applied to new vegetation, and yi, the locative. A former settlement on Cartoogaja creek near the present Franklin, in Macon Co., N. C.
Gatugiʻyi—“Town building place,” or “Settlement place,” from gatuʻgi, a settlement, and yi, locative. A place on Santeetla creek, near Robbinsville, in Graham Co., N. C.
Gatunʻitiʻyi—“Hemp place,” from Gatunʻlati, “wild hemp” (Apocynum cannabinum), and yi, locative. A former Cherokee settlement, commonly known as Hemptown, on the creek of the same name, near Morgantown, in Fannin Co., Ga.
Gatunʻwaʻli—a noted western Cherokee, about 1842, known to the whites as Hardmush or Big-Mush.
Gatunʻwaʻli, from gaʻtuʻ, “bread,” and unwaʻli, “made into balls or lumps,” is a sort of mush or parched corn meal, made very thick, so that it can be dipped out in lumps almost of the consistency of bread.
geʻi—down stream, down the road, with the current; tsaʻgi, up stream.
geseʻi—was; a separate word which, when used after the verb in the present tense, makes it past tense without change of form; in the form hiʻgeseʻi it usually accompanies an emphatic repetition.
Geʻyaguʻga (for Ageʻhyaʻ-guga?)—a formulistic name for the moon (nunʻdaʻ); it cannot be analyzed, but seems to contain the word ageʻhya, “woman.” See also nunʻdaʻ.
giʻga—blood; cf. giʻgageʻi, red.
giʻga-danegiʻski—“blood taker,” from giʻga, blood, and adaʻnegiʻski, “one who takes liquids,” from tsiʻnegiaʻ (liquid). Another name for the tsaneʻni or scorpion lizard.
giʻgageʻi—red, bright red, scarlet; the brown-red of certain animals and clays is distinguished as waʻdigeʻi.
giʻga-tsuhaʻli—“bloody-mouth,” literally “having blood on the corners of his mouth”; from giʻga, blood, and tsuhanunsiʻyi, the corners of the mouth (ahaʻli, his mouth). A large lizard, probably the pleistodon.
gili—dog; the Lower dialect, giʻri.
Gili-dinehunʻyi—“where the dogs live,” from gili, dog, dinehuʻ, “they dwell” (ehu, “I dwell”), and yi, locative. A place on Oconaluftee river, a short distance above the present Cherokee in Swain Co., N. C.
Giʻliʻ-utsunʻstanunʻyi—“where the dog ran,” from giliʻ, dog, and Utsunʻstanunʻyi, “footprints made by an animal running”; the Milky way.
ginunti—a song form for gunuʻtiiʻ, “to lay him (animate object) upon the ground.”
giri—see giʻliʻ.
Gisehunʻyi—“where the female lives,” from agiʻsi, female, and yi, locative. A place on Tuckasegee river a short distance above Bryson City, in Swain Co., N. C.
gitʻlu—hair. (Upper dialect); in Lower and Middle dialects gitsu.
Glass, The—see Taʻgwadihiʻ.
Gohoma—A Lower Cherokee chief in 1684; the form cannot be identified.
Going-snake—see Iʻnadunaʻi.
Gorhaleka—a Lower Cherokee chief in 1684; the form cannot be identified.
Great Island—see Amayel-eʻgwa.
Gregory Bald—see Tsistuʻyi.
Guachoula—see Guaxule.
Guaquila (Waki la)—a town in the Cherokee country, visited by De Soto in 1540, and again in 1567 by Pardo, who calls it Aguaquiri, and the name may have a connection with waguli, “Whippoorwill,” or with uʻwaʻgiʻli, “foam.”
Guasula—see Guaxule.
Gusila—see Guaxule.
Guaxule—a town in Cherokee county, visited in 1540 by De Soto. It was probably about at Nacoochee mound in White Co., Ga.
guʻdayʻwu—“I have sewed myself together”; “I am sewing,” tsiyeʻwiaʻ; “I am sewing myself together.”
gugweʻ—the quail or partridge.
gugweʻulasuʻla—“partridge moccasin,” from guewe, partridge, and ulasula, moccasin or shoe; the lady slipper.
Gulahiʻyi (abbreviated Gulahiʻ, or Gurahiʻ, in the Lower dialect)—“Gulaʻhi place,” so-called from the unidentified spring plant eaten as a salad by the Cherokee. The name of two or more places in the old Cherokee country; one about Currahee mountain, in Habersham Co., Ga., the other on Cullowhee river, an upper branch of Tuckasegee, in Jackson Co., N. C. Currahee Dick was a noted chief about the year 1820.
Guʻlaniʻyi—a Cherokee and Natchez settlement, formerly about the junction of Brasstown creek with Hiwassee river, a short distance above Murphy, in Cherokee Co., N. C. The etymology of the word is doubtful.
guleʻ—acorn.
guleʻdiskaʻnihi—the turtle-dove; literally “it cries, or mourns, for acorns,” from gule, acorn, and diskaʻnihiʻ, “it cries for them,” (di-. plural prefix, hi, habitual suffix). The turtle-dove feeds upon acorns and its cry somewhat resembles the name, gule.
guleʻgi—“climber,” from tsilahi, “I climb” (second person, hiʻlahi; third person, gulahi); the blacksnake.
Gulʻkalaʻski—an earlier name for Tsunuʻlahunʻski, q. v.
gulʻkwaʻgi—seven; also the mole-cricket.
gulʻkwaʻgine(-i)—seventh; from gulʻkwagi, seven.
Gulsadihi (or Gultsadihiʻ?) a masculine name of uncertain etymology.
Guʻnahitunʻyi—Long place (i. e., Long valley), from gunahiʻti, long, and yi, locative. A former settlement known to the whites as Valleytown, where now is the town of the same name on Valley river in Cherokee Co., N. C. The various settlements on Valley river and the adjacent part of Hiwassee were known collectively as “Valley towns.”
Gunʻdiʻgaduhunʻyi (abbreviated Gunʻ-digaduʻhun)—“Turkey settlement” (guʻna, turkey), so-called from the chief, Turkey or Little Turkey. A former settlement, known to the whites as Turkeytown, upon the west bank of Coosa river, opposite the present Center, in Cherokee, Co., Ala.
guʻni—arrow. Cf. Senica, gaʻna.
gunʻnageʻi (or gunʻnage) black.
Gunneʻhi—see Nunneʻhi.
Gunskaliʻski—a masculine personal name of uncertain etymology.
Gunters Landing, Guntersville—see Kuʻsa-Nunnaʻhi.
Gun-tuskwaʻli—“short arrows,” from guni, arrow, and tsuskwaʻli, plural of uskaʻli, short; a traditional western tribe.
Gununʻdaʻleʻgi—see Nunna-hiʻdihi.
Gustiʻ—a traditional Cherokee settlement on Tennessee river, near Kingston, Roane Co., Tenn. The name cannot be analyzed.
Guʻwisguwiʻ—The Cherokee name of the chief John Ross, and for the district named in his honor, commonly spelled Cooweescoowee. Properly an onomatope for a large bird said to have been seen formerly at infrequent intervals in the old Cherokee country, accompanying the migratory wild geese, and described as resembling a large snipe, with yellow legs and unwebbed feet. In boyhood John Ross was known as Tsanʻusdi, “Little John.”
Gwalʻgaʻhi—“Frog-place,” from gwalʻgu, a variety of frog, and hi, locative. A place on Hiwassee river, just above the junction of Peachtree creek, near Murphy, in Cherokee Co., N. C.; about 1755 the site of a village of refugee Natchez, and later of a Baptist mission.
gweheʻ—a cricket’s cry.
Ha!—an introductory exclamation intended to attract attention or add emphasis; about equivalent to Here! Now!
Haʻ-maʻmaʻ—a song term compounded of ha! an introductory exclamation, and mamaʻ, a word which has no analysis, but is used in speaking to young children to mean “let me carry you on my back.”
Hanging-maw—see Uskwaʻli-guʻta.
haʻnia-lilʻ-lilʻ—an unmeaning dance refrain.
Hard-mush—see Gatunʻwali.
haʻtlu—dialectic form, gaʻtsu, “where?” (interrogative).
haʻwiyeʻehiʻ, haʻwiyeʻhyuweʻ—unmeaning dance refrains.
hayuʻ—an emphatic affirmative, about equivalent to “Yes, sir.”
hayuyaʻhaniwaʻ—an unmeaning refrain in one of the bear songs.
he-e!—an unmeaning song introduction.
Hemp-carrier—see Taleʻdanigiʻski.
Hemptown—see Gatunltiʻyi.
hi!—unmeaning dance exclamation.
Hickory-log—see Waneʻ-asunʻtlunyi.
hiʻginaʻlii—“(you are) my friend”; afinaʻlii, “(he is) my friend.” In white man’s jargon, canaly.
Hightower—see Iʻtawaʻ.
hilaʻgu?—how many? how much? (Upper dialect); the Middle dialect form is hunguʻ.
hilahiʻyu—long ago; the final yu makes it more emphatic.
hiʻlunnu—“(thou) go to sleep”; from tsiʻlihuʻ, “I am asleep.”
hiʻski—five; cf. Mohawk wisk. The Cherokee numerals including 10 are as follows: saʻgwu, taʻli, tsaʻi, nunʻgi, hiʻski, suʻtali, gul kwaʻgi, tsuneʻla, askaʻhi
Hiwassee—Ayuhwaʻsi.
hiʻyaguʻwe—an unmeaning dance refrain.
Houston, Samuel—see Kaʻlanu.
huhu—the yellow-breasted chat, or yellow mocking bird (Icteria virens); the name is an onomatope.
hunyahuʻska—“he will die.”
hwiʻlahiʻ—“thou (must) go.”
Iauʻnigu—an important Cherokee settlement, commonly known to the whites as Seneca, formerly on Keowee river, about the mouth of Conneross creek, in Oconee county, S. C. Hopewell, the country seat of General Pickens, where the famous treaty was made, was near it on the east side of the river. The word cannot be translated, but has no connection with the tribal name, Seneca.
igaguʻti—daylight. The name is sometimes applied to the ulunsuʻti (q. v.) and also to the clematis vine.
iʻhya—the cane reed (Arundinaria) of the Gulf states, used by the Indians for blow-guns, fishing rods and basketry.
ihyaʻga—see atsilʻsunti.
inaduʻ—snake.
Iʻnadu-naʻi—“Going snake,” a Cherokee chief prominent about eighty years ago. The name properly signifies that the person is “going along in company with a snake,” the verbal part being from the irregular verb astaʻi, “I am going along with him.” The name has been given to a district of the present Cherokee Nation.
iʻnageʻhi—dwelling in the wilderness, an inhabitant of the wilderness; from iʻnageʻi “wilderness,” and ehi, habitual present form of ehu, “he is dwelling”; geʻu, “I am dwelling.”
Iʻnage-utasunʻhi—“he who grew up in the wilderness,” i. e., “He who grew up wild”; from iʻnageʻi, “wilderness, unoccupied timber land,” and utasunʻhi, the third person perfect of the irregular verb gaʻtunskuʻ, “I am growing up.”
Inaʻli—Black-fox; the common red fox in tsuʻla (in Muscogee, chula). Black-fox was principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1810.
Iskagua—Name for “Clear Sky,” formerly “Nenetooyah or the Bloody Fellow.” The name appears thus in a document of 1791 as that of a Cherokee chief frequently mentioned about that period under the name of “Bloody Fellow.” In one treaty it is given as “Eskaqua or Bloody Fellow.” Both forms and etymologies are doubtful, neither form seeming to have any reference either to “sky” (galunʻlahi) or “blood” (giʻga). The first may be intended for Ik-eʻgwa, “Great day.”
Istanare—see Ustanaʻli.
Itaba—see Iʻtawaʻ.
Itaguʻnahi—the Cherokee name of John Ax.
Iʻtawaʻ—The name of one or more Cherokee settlements. One, which existed until the Removal in 1838, was upon Etowah river, about the present Hightower, in Forsyth county, Ga. Another may have been on Hightower creek of Hiwassee river in Towns county, Ga. The name, commonly written Etowah and corrupted to Hightower, cannot be translated and seems not to be of Cherokee origin. A town, called Itaba, Ytaun or Ytava in the De Soto chronicles, existed in 1540 among the Creeks, apparently on Alabama river.
Itsaʻti—commonly spelled Echota, Chota, Chote, Choquata (misprint), etc.; a name occurring in several places in the old Cherokee country; the meaning is lost. The most important settlement of this name, frequently distinguished as Great Echota, was on the south side of Little Tennessee. It was the ancient capital and sacred “Peace town” of the Nation. Little Echota was on Sautee (i. e., Itsʻti) creek, a head stream of the Chattahoochee, west of Clarksville, Ga. New Echota, the capital of the Nation for some years before the Removal, was established at a spot originally known as Gansaʻgi (q. v.) at the junction of the Oostanaula and Canasauga rivers, in Gordon county, Ga. It was sometimes called Newton. The old Macedonia mission on Soco creek, of the N. C. reservation, is also known as Itasʻti to the Cherokee, as was also the great Nacoochee mound. See Nagutsiʻ.
Itseʻyi—“New green place” or “Place of fresh green,” from itseʻhi, “green or unripe vegetation,” and yi, the locative; applied more particularly to a tract of ground made green by fresh springing vegetation, after having been cleared of timber or burned over. A name occurring in several places in the Old Cherokee country, variously written Echia, Echoee, Etchowee, and sometimes also falsely rendered “Brasstown,” from a confusion of Itseʻyi with untsaiyiʻ, “brass.” One settlement of this name was upon Brasstown creek of Tugaloo river, in Oconee county, S. C.; another was on Little Tennessee river near the present Franklin, Macon county, N. C., and probably about the junction of Cartoogaja (Gatug-itseʻyi) creek; a third, known to the whites as Brasstown, was on upper Brasstown creek of Hiwassee river, in Towns county, Ga. In Cherokee, as in most other Indian languages, no clear distinction is made between green and blue.
iʻya—pumpkin.
iʻyaʻ-iuyʻsti—“like a pumpkin,” from iʻya and iyuʻsti, like.
iʻyaʻ-tawiʻskage—“of pumpkin smoothness,” from iʻya, pumpkin, and tawiʻskage, smooth.
Jackson—see Tsekʻsiniʻ.
Jessan—see Tsesaʻni.
Jesse Reid—see Tseʻsi-Skaʻtsi.
Joanna Bald—see Diyaʻhaliʻyi.
Joara, Juada—see Aniʻ-Sawaʻli.
John—see Tsaʻni.
John Ax—see Itaguʻnahi.
Jolly, John—see Anuʻludeʻgi.
Junaluska—see Tsunuʻlahunʻski.
Jutaculla—see Tsulkaluʻ.
kaʻguʻ—crow; the name is an onomatope.
Kagunʻyi—“Crow place,” from kaʻguʻ, and yi, locative.
kaʻi—grease, oil.
Kalaʻasunʻyi—“where he fell off,” from tsilaʻaskuʻ, “I am falling off,” and yi, locative. A cliff near Cold Spring knob, in Swain county, North Carolina.
Kaʻlahuʻ—“All-bones,” from kaʻlu, bone. A former chief of the East Cherokee, also known in the tribe as Sawanuʻgi.
Kaʻlanu—“The Raven”; the name was used as a war title in the tribe and appears in the old documents as Corani (Lower dialect, Kaʻranu) Colonneh, Colona, etc. It is the Cherokee name for General Samuel Houston or for any person named Houston.
Kaʻlanu Ahyeliʻski—the Raven Mocker.
Kaʻlanunʻyi—“Raven place,” from kaʻlanu, raven, and yi, the locative. The proper name of Big-cove settlement upon the East Cherokee reservation, Swain county, N. C., sometimes also called Raventown.
kalasʻ-gunahiʻta—“long hams” (gunahiʻta, “long”); a variety of bear.
Kal-detsiʻyunyi—“where the bones are,” from kaʻlu, bone, and detsiʻyunyi, “where (yi) they (de—plural prefix) are lying.” A spot near the junction of East Buffalo Creek with Cheowa river, in Graham county, N. C.
kamaʻma—butterfly.
kamaʻma uʻtanu—elephant; literally “great butterfly,” from the resemblance of the trunk and ears to the butterfly’s proboscis and wings.
kanahaʻna—a sour corn gruel, much in use among the Cherokee and other Southern tribes; the tamfuli or “Tom Fuller” of the Creeks.
kananeʻski—spider; also, from a fancied resemblance in appearance to a watch or clock.
kananeʻski amayeʻhi—the water spider.
Kanaʻsta, Kanastunʻyi—a traditional Cherokee settlement, formerly on the head-waters of the French Broad river, near the present Brevard, in Transylvania county, North Carolina. The meaning of the first name is lost. A settlement called Cannostee or Cannastion is mentioned as existing on Hiwassee river in 1776.
kanaʻtaluʻhi—hominy cooked with walnut kernels.
Kanaʻti—“Lucky Hunter”; a masculine name, sometimes abbreviated Kanatʻ. The word cannot be analyzed, but is used as a third person habitual verbal form to mean “he is lucky, or successful, in hunting”; the opposite is ukwaʻlegu, “unlucky, or unsuccessful, in hunting.”
kanegwaʻti—the water-moccasin snake.
Kanuga—also written Canuga; a Lower Cherokee settlement, apparently on the waters of Keowee river, in S. C., destroyed in 1751; also a traditional settlement on Pigeon river, probably near the present Waynesville, in Haywood county, N. C. The name signifies “a scratcher,” a sort of bone-toothed comb with which ball-players are scratched upon their naked skin preliminary to applying the conjured medicine; deʻtsinugaʻsku, “I am scratching it.”
kanuguʻ la (abbreviated nunguʻ la)—“scratcher,” a generic term for blackberry, raspberry, and other brier bushes.
Kanuʻgulayi, or Kanuʻgulunʻyi—“Brier place,” from kanuguʻla, brier (cf. Kanuʻga); a Cherokee settlement formerly on Nantahala river, about the mouth of Briertown creek, in Macon county, N. C.
Kanunʻnawuʻ—pipe.
Kasduʻyi—“Ashes place,” from kasdu, ashes, and yi, the locative. A modern Cherokee name for the town of Asheville, Buncombe county, N. C. The ancient name for the same site is Untaʻkiyastiʻyi, q. v.
Katalʻsta—an East Cherokee woman potter, the daughter of the chief Yanagunʻski. The name conveys the idea of lending, from tsiyatalʻsta, “I lend it”; agatalʻsta, “it is lent to him.”
Kawanʻ-uraʻsunyi—(abbreviated Kawanʻ-uraʻsun in the Lower dialect)—“where the duck fell,” from kawaʻna, duck, uraʻsa (ulaʻsa), “it fell,” and yi, locative. A point on Conneross creek (from Kawanʻ-uraʻsun), near Seneca, in Oconee county, S. C.
Kawiʻyi (abbreviated Kawiʻ)—a former important Cherokee settlement commonly known as Cowee, about the mouth of Cowee creek of Little Tennessee river, some 10 miles below Franklin, in Macon county, N. C. The name may possibly be a contraction of Aniʻ-Kawiʻyi, “Place of the Deer clan.”
Occonestee Falls, In Transylvania Co., N. C. |
Linville Falls, N. C. “O’er the precipice it plunges Bounds and surges down the steep.” |
Lower Fall. Triple Falls. Buck Forest, N.C. “Then it rushes fast and furious Into mist and fog and spray.” | |
Keeowhee—see Keowee.
Kenesaw—see Gansaʻgi.
Keowee—the name of two or more former Cherokee settlements. One sometimes distinguished as “Old Keowee,” the principal of the Lower Cherokee towns, was on the river of the same name, near the present Fort George, in Oconee county, of S. C. Another, distinguished as New Keowee, was on the head-waters of Twelve-mile creek, in Pickens county, S. C. According to Wafford the correct form is Kuwahiʻyi, abbreviated Kuwahiʻ, “Mulberry-grove place.” Says Wafford, “the whites murdered the name as they always do.” Cf. Kuwaʻhi.
Keʻsi-kaʻgamu—a woman’s name, a Cherokee corruption of Cassie Cockran; kaʻgamu is also the Cherokee corruption for “cucumber.”
Ketoowah—see Kiluʻhwa.
Kittuwa—see Kituʻhwa.
Kituʻhwa—an important ancient Cherokee settlement formerly upon Tuckasegee river, and extending from above the junction of Oconaluftee down nearly to the present Bryson City, in Swain county, N. C. The name, which appears also as Kettooah, Kittoa, Kittowa, etc., has lost its meaning. The people of this and the subordinate settlements on the waters of the Tuckasegee were known as Aniʻ-Kituʻhwagi, and the name was frequently extended to include the whole tribe. For this reason it was adopted in later times as the name of the Cherokee secret organization, commonly known to the whites as the Ketoowah society, pledged to the defense of Cherokee autonomy.
kiyu ga—ground-squirrel; teʻwa, flying squirrel; salaʻli, gray squirrel.
Klausuna—see Tlanusiʻyi.
Knoxville—see Kuwandaʻta lunʻyi.
ku!—an introductory explanation, to fix attention, about equivalent to “Now!”
kukuʻ—“cymbling”; also the “jigger weed,” or “pleurisy root” (Asclepias tuberosa). Coco creek of Hiwassee river, and Coker post-office, in Monroe county, Tennessee, derive their name from this word.
Kulsetsiʻyi (abbreviated Kulseʻtsi)—“Honey-locust place,” from kulseʻtsi, honey-locust (Gleditschia) and yi, locative; as the same word, kulseʻ tsi, is also used for “sugar,” the local name has commonly been rendered Sugartown by the traders. The name of several former settlement places in the old Cherokee country. One was upon Keowee river, near the present Fall creek, in Oconee county, S. C.; another was on Sugartown or Cullasagee (Kulseʻtsi) creek, near the present Franklin, in Macon county, N. C.; a third was on Sugartown creek, near the present Morgantown, in Fannin county, Ga.
Kunnesee—see Tsiʻyu-gunsiʻni.
Kunstutsiʻyi—“Sassafras place,” from kunstuʻtsi, sassafras, and yi, locative. A gap in the Great Smoky range, about the head of Noland creek, on the line between North Carolina and Sevier county, Tenn.
kunuʻnu (abbreviated kununʻ)—the bullfrog; the name is probably an onomatope; the common green frog is walaʻsi and there are also names for several other varieties of frogs and toads.
Kusaʻ—Coosa creek, an upper tributary of Nottely river, near Blairsville, Union county, Georgia. The change of accent from Kuʻsa (Creek, see Aniʻ-Kuʻsa) makes it locative.
Kuʻsa-nunnaʻhi—“Creek trail,” from Kuʻsa, Creek Indian, and Nunnaʻhi, path, trail; cf. Suwaʻli-nunnaʻhi. A former important Cherokee settlement, including also a number of Creeks and Shawano, where the trail from the Ohio region to the creek country crossed Tennessee river, at the present Guntersville, in Marshall county, Ala. It was known to the traders as Creek-path, and later as Gunter’s landing, from a Cherokee mixed-blood named Gunter.
Kuʻswatiʻyi (abbreviated Kuʻsawetiʻ)—“Old Creek place,” from Kuʻsa, a Creek Indian (plural Aniʻ-kuʻsa), uweʻti, old, and yi, locative. Coosawatee, an important Cherokee settlement formerly on the lower part of Coosawatee river, in Gordon county, Ga. In one document the name appears, by error, Tensawattee.
Kuwaʻhi—“Mulberry place,” from kuʻwa, mulberry tree, and hi, locative. Clingman’s dome, about the head of Deep creek, on the Great Smoky range, between Swain county, N. C., and Sevier county, Tenn. See also Keowee.
Kuwandaʻta lunʻyi (abbreviated Kuwandaʻta lun)—“Mulberry grove,” from kuʻwa, mulberry; the Cherokee name for the present site of Knoxville, in Knox county, Tenn.
Kwaʻli, Kwalunʻyi—Qualla or Quallatown, the former agency for the East Cherokee and now a post-office station, just outside the reservation, on a branch of Soco creek, in Jackson county, North Carolina. It is the Cherokee form for “Polly,” and the station was so-called from an old woman of that name who formerly lived near by; Kwaʻli, “Polly” Kwalunʻyi, “Polly’s place.” The reservation is locally known as the Qualla boundary.
kwandayaʻhu—see daʻlikstaʻ.
laʻlu—the jar-fly (Cicada auletes).
Little Carpenter, Little Cornplanter—see Ataʻ-gul kaluʻ.
Long-hair—a Cherokee chief living with his band in Ohio in 1795. The literal Cherokee translation of “Long-hair” is Gitluʻgunahiʻta, but it is not certain that the English name is a correct rendering of the Indian form. Cf. Aniʻ-Gilaʻhi.
Long Island—see Amaye li-gunahiʻta.
Lookout Mountain Town—see Dandaʻganuʻ.
Lowrey, Major George—see Agili.
Mayes, J. B.—see Tsaʻwa Gakʻski.
Memphis—see Tsudaʻtalesunʻyi.
Mialaquo—see Amaye l-eʻgwa.
Moses—see Waʻsi.
Moytoy—a Cherokee chief recognized by the English as “emperor” in 1730. Both the correct form and the meaning of the name are uncertain; the name occurs again as Moyatoy in a document of 1793; a boy upon the East Cherokee reservation a few years ago bore the name of Maʻtayiʻ, for which no meaning can be found or given.
Mussel Shoals—see Daguʻnahi.
Nacoochee—see Naʻgu tsi.
Naʻduli—known to the whites as Nottely. A former Cherokee settlement on Nottely river, close to the Georgia line, in Cherokee county, N. C. The name cannot be translated and has not any connection with na tu li, “spicewood.”
Naʻgu tsiʻ—a former important settlement about the junction of Soquee and Santee rivers, in Nacoochee valley, at the head of Chattahoochee river, in Habersham county, Ga. The meaning of the word is lost and it is doubtful if it be of Cherokee origin. It may have some connection with the name of the Uchee Indians. The great mound farther up Sautee river, in White county, was known to the Cherokee as Itsaʻti.
nakwisiʻ (abbreviated nakusi)—star; also the meadow lark.
nakwisiʻ usdiʻ—“little star”; the puffball fungus (Lycoperdon?).
Naʻna-tlu gunʻyi (abbreviated Naʻna-tlu gunʻ, or Naʻna-tsu gunʻ)—“Spruce-tree place,” from naʻna, spruce, tlu gunʻi, or tsu gunʻi, a tree (standing) and yi, locative, 1. A traditional ancient Cherokee settlement on the site of Jonesboro, Washington county, Tenn. The name of Nolichucky river is probably a corruption of the same word. 2. Nan-tsu gun, a place on Nottely river, close to its junction with Hiwassee, in Cherokee county, N. C.
Nanehi—see Nunneʻhi.
Nantahala—see Nundayeʻ li.
Nashville—see Daguʻnaweʻlahi.
Natchez—see Aniʻ-Na′tsi.
Nats-asunʻtlunyi (abbreviated Nats-asunʻtlun)—“Pine-footing place,” from na′tsi, pine, asunʻtli or asun-tlunʻi, footlog, bridge, and yi, locative. A former Cherokee settlement, commonly known as Pinelog, on the creek of the same name, in Bartow county, Georgia.
na′tsi—pine.
naʻtsikuʻ—“I eat it” (tsiʻkiuʻ, “I am eating”).
na tu li—spicewood (Lindera benzoin).
Nayeʻhi—see Nunneʻhi.
Nayunuwi—see Nunyunuʻwi.
nehanduyanuʻ—a song form for nehaduʻyanuʻ, an irregular verbal form denoting “conceived in the womb.”
Nellawgitehi—given as the name of a Lower Cherokee chief in 1684. The correct form and meaning are both uncertain, but the final part seems to be the common suffix didiʻ, “killer.” Cf. Taʻgwadiahiʻ.
Nenetooyah—see Iskagua.
Nequassee—see Kiʻkwasiʻ.
Nettecawaw—see Gatayuʻsti.
Nettle-carrier—see Taleʻdanigiʻski.
New Echota, Newtown—see Itsaʻti.
Nicotani—see Aniʻ-Kutaʻni.
Nikwasiʻ (or Nikwsiʻ)—an important ancient settlement on Little Tennessee river, where now is the town of Franklin, in Macon county, N. C. A large mound marks the site of the town-house. The name appears in old documents as Nequassee, Nucassee, etc. Its meaning is lost.
Nikutseʻgi (also Nukatseʻgi, Nikwatseʻgi, or abbreviated Nikutsegʻ)—Nickajack, an important Cherokee settlement, about 1790, on the south bank of Tennessee river, at the entrance of Nickajack creek, in Marion county, Tenn. One of the Five Chickamauga towns (see Tsikamaʻgi). The meaning of the word is lost and it is probably not of Cherokee origin, although it occurs also in the tribe as a man’s name. In the corrupted form of “Nigger Jack,” it occurs also as the name of a creek of Cullasaja river above Franklin, in Macon county, N. C.
Nilaque—see Amaye l-eʻgwa.
Nolichucky—see Naʻna-tlugunʻyi.
Notchy—a creek entering Tellico river, in Monroe county, Tenn. The name evidently refers to Natchez Indian refugees, who formerly lived in the vicinity (see Aniʻ-Na′tsi).
Nottely—see Naʻduliʻ.
nu—used as a suffix to denote “and,” or “also”; uʻle-nu, “and also” naʻski-nuʻ, “and that,” “that also.”
Nucassee—see Nikwasiʻ.
nuʻdunneluʻ—he did so and so: an irregular form apparently connected with the archaic forms adunniʻga, “it has just become so,” and udunnu, “it is matured, or finished.”
Nugatsaʻni—a ridge sloping down to Oconaluftee river, below Cherokee, in Swain county, N. C. An archaic form denoting a high ridge with a long gradual slope.
nuʻna—potato; the name was originally applied to the wild “pig potato” (Phaseolus), now distinguished as muʻna igatehi, “swamp-dwelling potato.”
nunʻda—the sun or moon, distinguished as unuʻdaʻ igeʻhi, nunʻdaʻ “dwelling in the day,” and nunʻdaʻ sunnaʻyehi, nunʻda “dwelling in the night.” In the sacred formulas the moon is sometimes called Ge yaguʻga, or Suʻtalidihi, “Six-keller,” names apparently founded upon myths now lost.
nunʻdaʻ-dikani—a rare bird formerly seen occasionally in the old Cherokee country, possibly the little blue heron (Floridus cerulea). The name seems to mean “it looks at the sun,” i. e., “sun-gazer,” from nunʻdaʻ, sun, and daʻka naʻ or detsiʻka na, “I am looking at it.”
Nundaweʻgi—see Aniʻ-Nundaweʻgi.
Nunʻdaye li—“Middle (i. e., Noonday) sun,” from nundaʻ, sun and aye li, middle; a former Cherokee settlement on Nantahala river, near the present Jarrett station, in Macon county, N. C., so-called from the high cliffs which shut out the view of the sun until nearly noon. The name appears also as Nantahala, Nantiyallee, Nuntialla, etc. It appears to have been applied properly only to the point on the river where the cliffs are most perpendicular, while the settlement itself was known as Kanuʻgu laʻyi, “Briertown,” q. v.
Nunʻdagunʻyi, Nundaʻyi—the Sun land, or east; from nunʻdaʻ, sun, and yi, locative. Used in the sacred formulas instead of diʻgalungunʻyi, “where it rises,” the common word.
nunʻgi—four. See hiʻski.
nungu la—see kanuguʻ la.
nunnaʻhi (abbreviated nunna)—a path, trail or road.
Nunnaʻhi-dihiʻ (abbreviated Nunʻna-dihiʻ)—“Path-killer,” literally, “he kills (habitually) in the path,” from nunʻnahi, path, and ahihiʻ, “he kills” (habitually); “I am killing,” tsiʻihuʻ. A principal chief, about the year 1813. Major John Ridge was originally known by the same name, but afterward took the name, Gununʻda leʻgi, “One who follows the ridge,” which the whites made simply ridge.
Nunnaʻhi-tsuneʻga (abbreviated) Nunna-tsuneʻga—“white-path,” from nunnaʻhi, path, and tsuneʻga, plural of uneʻga, white; the form is the plural, as is common in Indian names, and has probably a symbolic reference to the “white” or peaceful paths spoken of in the opening invocation at the green corn dance. A noted chief who led the conservative party about 1828.
Nunneʻhi (also Gunneʻhi; singular Nayeʻhi)—a race of invisible spirit people. The name is derived from the verb eʻhuʻ, “I dwell, I live,” eʻhiʻ, “I dwell habitually,” and may be rendered “dwellers anywhere,” or “those who live anywhere,” but implies having always been there, i. e., “Immortals.” It has been spelled Nanehi and Nuhnayie by different writers. The singular form Nayeʻhi occurs also as a personal name, about equivalent to Edaʻhi, “One who goes about.”
Nuniyuʻsti—“potato-like,” from nuʻna, potato, and iyuʻsti, like. A flowering vine with tuberous root somewhat resembling the potato.
Nunyuʻ—rock, stone.
Nunyuʻ-gunwamʻski—“Rock that talks,” from nunyuʻ, rock, and tsiwaʻnihu, “I am talking.” A rock from which Talking-rock creek of Coosawatee river, in Georgia, derives its name.
Nunʻyunuʻwi—contracted from Nunyu-unuʻwi. “Stone-clad,” from nunyu, rock, and agwaunʻwu, “I am clothed or covered.” A mythic monster, invulnerable by reason of his stony skin. The name is also applied sometimes to the stinging ant, dasuntali atatsunski, q. v. It has also been spelled Nayunuwi.
Nunyuʻ-tlu guni (or Nunyu-tsu gunʻi)—“Tree-rock,” a notable rock on Hiwassee river, just within the N. C. line.
Nunyuʻ-twiʻska—“Slick rock,” from nunyuʻ, rock, and twiska, smooth, slick; the form remains unchanged for the locative. 1. Slick-rock creek, entering Little Tennessee river just within the west line of Graham county, N. C. 2. A place at the extreme head of Brasstown creek of Hiwassee river, in Towns county, Ga.
Ocoee—see Uwagaʻhi.
Oconaluftee—see Egwanul ti.
Oconee—see Ukwuʻnu.
Oconostota—see Aganstaʻta.
Old Tassel—see Utsiʻdsataʻ.
Ooltewah—see Ultiwaʻi.
Oostinaleh—see Uʻstanaʻli.
Oothealoga—see Uyʻgilaʻgi.
Otacite, Otassite—see Outacity.
Otari, Otariyatiqui—mentioned as a place, apparently on the Cherokee frontier, visited by Pardo in 1567. Otari seems to be the Cherokee atari or atali, mountain, but the rest of the word is doubtful.
Ottare—see aʻtali.
Owasta—given as the name of a Cherokee chief in 1684; the form cannot be identified.
Ougillogy—see Uyʻgilaʻgi.
Outacity—given in documents as the name or title of a prominent Cherokee chief about 1720. It appears also as Otacite, Ottassite, Outassatah, Wootassite and Wrosetasatow (!), but the form cannot be identified, although it seems to contain the personal name suffix dihaʻ, “killer.” Timberlake says: “There are some other honorary titles among them, conferred in reward of great actions; the first of which is Outacity or “Man-killer,” and the second Colona or “The Raven.”
Outassatah—see Outacity.
Owassa—see Ayuhwaʻsi.
Paint-town—see Aniʻ-Waʻdihiʻ.
Path-killer—see Nunaʻhi-dihiʻ.
Phoenix, Cherokee—see Tsuleʻhisanunʻhi.
Pigeon River—see Wayi.
Pine Indians—see Aniʻ-Na′tsi.
Pinelog—see Na ts-asunʻtlunyi.
Qualatchee—a former Cherokee settlement on the headwaters of the Chattahoochee river in Georgia; another of the same name was upon the waters of Keowee river in S. C. The correct form is unknown.
Qualla—see Kwali.
Quinahaqui—a place, possibly in the Cherokee country, visited by Pardo in 1567. The form cannot be identified.
Quoneashee—see Tlanusiʻyi.
Rattlesnake Springs—see Utsanatiyi.
Rattling-Gourd—see Ganseti.
Raventown—see Kalanunʻyi.
Red Clay—see Elawaʻdiyi.
Reid, Jesse—see Tseʻsi-Skaʻtsi.
Ridge, Major John—see Nunnaʻhi-dihiʻ.
Ross, John—see Guʻwisguwiʻ.
Ross' Landing—see Tsatanuʻgi.
Sadayiʻ—a feminine name, the proper name of the woman known to the whites as Annie Ax; it cannot be translated.
Sagwaʻhi, or Sagwunʻyi—“One place,” from saʻgwu, one, and hi or yi, locative. Soco creek of Oconaluftee river, on the East Cherokee reservation, in Jackson county, N. C. No satisfactory reason is given for the name, which has its parallel in Tsaskaʻhi, “Thirty place,” a local name in Cherokee county, N. C.
saʻgwaltʻ—horse; from asagwalihu, a pack or burden, asagwal luʻ; “there is a pack on him.”
saʻgwali diguʻlanahiʻta—mule; literally “long-eared horse,” from saʻgwali, horse, and diguʻlanahiʻta, q. v.
saikwaʻyi—bear-grass (Erynigium) also the greensnake, on account of a fancied resemblance; the name of a former Cherokee settlement on Sallacoa creek of Coosawatee river, in Gordon county, Ga.
Sakwiʻyi (or Sukiʻyi; abbreviated Sakwiʻ or Sukiʻ)—a former settlement on Soquee river, a head stream of Chattahoochee, near Clarksville, Habersham county, Ga. Also written Saukee and Sookee. The name has lost its meaning.
salaʻli—squirrel; the common gray squirrel; other varieties are kiyu ga, the ground squirrel, and tewa, the flying squirrel; Salaʻli was also the name of an East Cherokee inventor who died a few years ago; Salaʻlaniʻtaʻ “Young-squirrels,” is a masculine personal name on the reservation.
saliguʻgi—turtle, the common water turtle; soft-shell turtle, uʻlanaʻwa; land tortoise or terrapin, tuksiʻ.
Saʻnigilaʻgi (abbreviated San gilaʻgi)—Whiteside mountain, a prominent peak of the Blue Ridge, southeast from Franklin, Macon county, N. C. It is connected with the tradition of Utlunʻta.
Santeetla—the present map name of a creek joining Cheiwa river in Graham county, N. C., and of a smaller tributary (Little Santeetla). The name is not recognized or understood by the Cherokee, who insist that it was given by the whites. Little Santeetla is known to the Cherokee as Tsundaniltiʻyi, q. v.; the modern Santeetla creek is commonly known as Nayuʻhigeyunʻi, “Sand-place stream,” from “Nuyuʻhi, “Sand place” (nayu, sand), a former settlement just above the junction of the two creeks.
Sara—see Aniʻ-Suwaʻli.
Saʻsaʻ—goose; an onomatope.
Sautee—see Itsaʻti.
Savannah—the popular name of this river is derived from that of the Shawano Indians, formerly living upon its middle course, and known to the Cherokee as AniʻSwanuʻgi, q. v., to the Creeks as Savanuka, and to some of the coast tribes of Carolina as Savanna. In old documents the river is also called Isundiga, from Isuʻnigu or Seneca, q. v., an important former Cherokee settlement upon its upper waters.
Sawanuʻgi—“Shawano” (Indian); a masculine personal name upon the East Cherokee reservation and prominent in the history of the band. See AniʻSawanuʻgi and Kaʻlahuʻ.
Sawnook—see Kaʻlahuʻ.
Sehwateʻyi—“Hornet place,” from seʻhwatu, hornet, and yi, locative. Cheowa Maximum and Swim Bald, adjoining bald peaks at the head of Cheowa river, Graham county, N. C.
selu—corn; sometimes called in the sacred formulas Agaweʻla, “The Old Woman.”
sel-utsiʻ (for selu-utsiʻ)—“corn’s mother,” from selu, corn, and utsiʻ, his mother (etsiʻ or agitsiʻ, my mother); the bead-corn or Job’s-tears (Coix lacryma).
Seneca—see Aniʻ-Nunʻdaweʻgi (Seneca tribe), and Isuʻnigu. (Seneca town.)
Sequatchee—see Siʻgwetsiʻ.
Sequoya—see Sikwayi.
Setsi—a mound and traditional Cherokee settlement on the south side of the Valley river, about three miles below Valleytown, in Cherokee county, N. C.; the name has lost its meaning. A settlement called Tasetsi (Tassetchie in some old documents) existed on the extreme head of Hiwassee river, in Towns county, Ga.
Sevier—see Tsanʻ-usdiʻ.
Shooting creek—see Duʻstayalunʻyi.
Siʻgwetsiʻ—a traditional Cherokee settlement on the south bank of French Broad river, not far from Knoxville, Knox county, Tenn. Near by was the quarry from which it is said the stone for the white peace pipes was obtained. Swquatchee, the name of the river below Chattanooga, in Tenn., is probably a corruption of the same word.
siʻdwa—hog; originally the name of the opossum, now distinguished as siʻkwa utsetʻsti, q. v.
siʻkwa utsetʻsti—opossum; literally “grinning hog,” from siʻkwa, hog, and utsetʻsti, “he grins” (habitually).
Sikwaʻyi—a masculine name, commonly written Sequoya, made famous as that of the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet. The name, which cannot be translated, is still in use upon the East Cherokee reservation.
Sikwiʻa—a masculine name, the Cherokee corruption for Sevier. See also Tsan-usdiʻ.
sinnawah—see tlaʻnuwa.
Siʻtikuʻ (or suʻtaguʻ, in dialectic form)—a former Cherokee settlement on Little Tennessee river, at the entrance of Citico creek, in Monroe county, Tenn. The name, which cannot be translated, is commonly spelled Citico, but appears also as Sattiquo, Settico, Settacoo, Sette, Sittiquo, etc.
siyuʻ—see aʻsiyuʻ.
skintaʻ—for skinʻtaguʻ, understood to mean “put a new tooth into my jaw.” The word cannot be analyzed, but is derived from gantkaʻ (ganta ga in a dialectic form) a tooth in place; a tooth detached is kayu ga.
Skwanʻ-digu gunʻyi (for Askwanʻ-digu gunʻyi)—“where the Spaniard is in the water” (or other liquid). A place on Upper Soco creek, on the reservation in Jackson county, N. C.
Slick Rock—see Nunyuʻtawiʻska.
Smith, N. J.—see Tsaladihiʻ.
Snowbird—see Tutiʻyi.
Soco creek—see Sagwaʻhi.
Soco Gap—see Ahaluʻna.
Soquee—see Sakwiʻyi.
Spray, H. W.—see Wilsiniʻ.
spring-frog—see Duʻstuʻ.
Standing Indian—see Yunwi-tsulenunʻyi.
Stand Watie—see Deʻgataga.
Stekoa—see Stikaʻyi.
steʻtsi—“your daughter”; literally, “your offspring”; agweʻtsi, “my offspring”; uweʻtsi, “his offspring”; to distinguish sex it is necessary to add asgaʻya, “man” or ageʻhya, “woman.”
Stikaʻyi (variously spelled Stecoe, Steecoy, Stekoah, Stickoey, etc.)—the name of several former Cherokee settlements: 1. Sticoa creek, near Clayton, Babun county, Ga.; 2. on Tuckasegee river at the old Thomas homestead just above the present Whittier, in Swain county, N. C.; 3. on Stekoa creek of Little Tennessee river, a few miles below the junction of Nantahala, in Graham county, N. C.
Stringfield—see Tlageʻsi.
stugiʻsti, stuiʻski—a key.
Suck, The—see Unʻtiguhiʻ.
Sugartown—see Kulseʻtsiʻyi.
suʻnawaʻ—see tlaʻnuwa.
sunestlaʻta—“split noses”; see tsunu liyuʻ sunestlaʻta.
sungi—mink; also onion; the name seems to refer to a smell; the various minks are called generically, gaw sunʻgi.
Sukiʻyi—another form of Sakwiʻyi, q. v.
suʻliʻ—buzzard; the Creek name is the same.
Sun Land—see Nundaʻyi.
suʻsaʻ-saiʻ—an unmeaning song refrain.
suʻtalidihiʻ—see nunʻdaʻ.
Suwaʻli-nunnaʻhi (abbreviated Suwaʻli-nunnaʻhi)—“Suwali train,” the proper name for the gap at the head of Swannanoa (from Suwaʻli-Nunʻnaʻ) river east of Asheville, in Buncombe county, N. C.
Suwaʻni—a former Cherokee settlement on Chattahoochee river, about the present Suwanee, in Gwinnett county, Ga. The name has no meaning in the Cherokee language and is said to be of Creek origin.
Suyeʻta—“the Chosen One,” from asuyeʻta, “he is chosen,” gasuʻyeu, “I am choosing”; the same form, suyeʻta, could also mean mixed, from gasuʻyahu, “I am mixing it.” A masculine name at present borne by a prominent ex-chief and informant upon the East Cherokee reservation.
Swannanoa—see Wuwaʻli-nunnaʻhi.
Swim Bald—see Sehwateʻyi.
Swimmer—see Ayunʻini.
tadeyaʻstatakuhiʻ—“we shall see each other.”
Tae-keo-ge—see Ta skiʻgi.
taʻgu—the June-bug (Allorhina nitida), also called tuya-diskalaw tsiski, “one who keeps fire under the beans.”
Taʻgwa—see Aniʻtaʻgwa.
Taʻgwadihiʻ (abbreviated Taʻgwadiʻ)—“Catawba-killer,” from Ataʻgwa or Taʻgwa, “Cattawba Indian,” and dihihiʻ, “he kills them” (habitually), from tsiʻihuʻ. “I kill.” An old masculine name, still in use upon the East Cherokee reservation. It was the proper name of the chief known to the whites about 1790 as “The Glass,” from a confusion of this name with adakeʻti, glass, or mirror.
Tagwaʻhi—“Catawba place,” from Ataʻgwa or Taʻgwa, Catawba Indian, and hi, locative. A name occurring in several places in the old Cherokee country. A settlement of this name, known to the whites as Toccoa, was upon Toccoa creek, east of Clarksville, in Habersham county, Ga.; another was upon Toccoa or Ocoee river, about the present Toccoa, in Fannin county, Ga.; a third may have been on Persimmon creek, which is known to the Cherokee as Tagwaʻhi, and enters Hiwassee river some distance below Murphy, in Cherokee county, N. C.
Tahkeyostee—see Untaʻkiyastiʻyi.
Tahlequah—see Talikwaʻ.
Tahchee—see Talikwaʻ.
Takatoka—see Deʻgataʻga.
taʻladuʻ (abbreviated talduʻ)—twelve, from taʻli, two. Cf. talaʻtu, cricket.
Taʻlasiʻ—a former Cherokee settlement on Little Tennessee river about Talassee ford, in Blount county, Tenn. The name has lost its meaning.
Talassee—see Taʻlasiʻ.
talaʻtu—cricket; sometimes also called ditaʻstayeʻski (q. v.), “the barber.” Cf. taʻladuʻ, twelve.
Taleʻdanigiʻski (Utaleʻdanigiʻsi in a dialectic form)—variously rendered by the whites “Hemp-carrier,” “Nettle-carrier” or “flax-toter,” from taleʻta or utaleʻta, flax (Linum) or richweed (Pilea pumila), and danigiʻski, “he carries them” (habitually). A former prominent chief on Valley river, in Cherokee county, North Carolina.
Talihina—given as the name of the Cherokee wife of Samuel Houston; the form cannot be identified.
Talikwaʻ (commonly written Tellico, Teliquo or, in the Indian Territory, Tahlequah)—the name of several Cherokee settlements at different periods, viz.: 1. Great Tellico, at Tellico Plains, on Tellico river, in Monroe county, Tenn.; 2. Little Tellico, on Tellico creek of Little Tennessee river, about ten miles below Franklin, Macon county, N. C. 3. a town on Valley river, about five miles above Murphy, in Cherokee county, N. C.; 4. Tahlequah, established as the capital of the Cherokee Nation, Ind. Ter., in 1839. The meaning of the name is lost.
Taliʻwa—the site of a traditional battle between the Cherokee and Creeks about 1755, on Mountain (?) creek of Etowah river in upper Georgia. Probably not a Cherokee but a Creek name from the Creek taʻlua or itaʻlua, town.
Talking-rock—see Nunyu-gunwaniʻski.
Tallulah—see Taluluʻ.
Tal-tsuʻskaʻ—“Two-heads,” from taʻli, two, and tsuʻskaʻ, plural of uskaʻ, (his) head. A Cherokee chief about the year 1800, known to the whites as Doublehead.
taluli—pregnant; whence aluliʻ, (she is) “a mother,” said of a woman.
Taluluʻ (commonly Tallulah, and appearing in old documents, from the Lower dialect, as Taruraw, Toruro, Turoree, etc.)—a name occurring in two or more places in the old Cherokee country, viz.: 1. An ancient settlement on the upper part of Tallulah river, in Rabun county, Georgia; 2. a town on Tallulah creek of Cheowa river, in Graham county, N. C. The word is of uncertain etymology. The duluʻsi frog is said to cry taluluʻ. The noted falls upon Tallulah river are known to the Cherokee as Ugunʻyi, q. v.
Taluntiski—see Ataʻluntiʻski.
Tamaʻli—a name, commonly written Tomotley or Tomatola, occurring in at least two places in the old Cherokee country, viz.: 1. On Valley river, a few miles above Murphy, about the present Tomatola, in Cherokee county, N. C. 2. on Little Tennessee river, about Tomotley ford, a few miles above Tellico river, in Monroe county, Tenn. The name cannot be translated, and may be of Creek origin, as that tribe had a town of the same name upon the lower Chattahoochee river.
Tanasiʻ—a name which cannot be analyzed, commonly spelled Tennessee, occurring in several places in the old Cherokee country, viz.: 1. On Little Tennessee river about half-way between Citico and Toco creeks, in Monroe county, Tenn. 2. “Old Tennessee town,” on Hiwassee river, a short distance above the junction of Ocoee, in Polk county, Tenn. 3. On Tennessee creek, a head-stream of Tuckasegee river, in Jackson county, N. C. Tanasqui, visited by Pardo in 1567, may have been another place of the same name.
Tanasqui—see Tanasiʻ.
Taʻskiʻgi (abbreviated from Taʻskigiʻyi or Daʻskigiʻyi, the locative yi being commonly omitted)—a name variously written Tae-keo-ge (misprint), Tasquiqui, Teeskege, Tuscagee, Tuskegee, etc., derived from that of a foreign tribe incorporated with the Cherokee, and occurring as a local name both in the Cherokee and in the Creek country. 1. The principal settlement of this name was on Little Tennessee river, just above the junction of Tellico, in Monroe county, Tenn.; 2. another was on the north bank of Tennessee river, just below Chattanooga, Tennessee; 3. another may have been on Tuskegee creek of Little Tennessee river, near Robbinsville, Graham county, N. C.
Tasquiqui—see Taʻskiʻgi.
Tassel, Old—see Utsiʻdsataʻ.
Tatsiʻ—“Dutch,” also written Tahchee, a western Cherokee chief about 1830.
Tatsuʻhwa—the redbird.
tawaʻli—punk.
Tawaʻli-ukwanunʻti—“Punk-plugged-in,” from tawaʻli, punk; the Cherokee name of a traditional Shawano chief.
tawiʻska, tawiʻskage—smooth, slick.
Tawiʻskala—“Flint”; a Cherokee supernatural, the personification of the rock flint; tawiʻskalunʻti, tawiʻskala, flint, from tawiʻska, smooth, slick; cf. Iroquois Tawiskaron.
Tayunksi—a traditional western tribe; the name cannot be analyzed.
Tellico—see Talikwaʻ.
telunʻlati—the summer grape (Vitis aestivalis).
Tenaswattee—see Kuʻsawetiʻyi.
Terrapin—see Tuksiʻ.
tewa—a flying squirrel; salaʻli, gray squirrel; kiyu ga, ground squirrel.
Thomas, W. H.—see Wil-usdiʻ.
Tikwaliʻtsi—a name occurring in several places in the old Cherokee country, viz.: 1. Tuckalegee creek, a tributary of War-Woman creek, east of Clayton, in Rabun county, Ga.; 2. the Tikiwaliʻtsi of the story, an important town on Tuckasegee river at the present Bryson City, in Swain county, N. C. 3. Tuckalechee cove, on Little river, in Blount county, Tenn., which probably preserves the aboriginal local name. The name appears in old documents as Tuckarechee (Lower dialect) and Tuckalegee, and must not be confounded with Tsiksiʻtsi or Tuckasegee. It cannot be translated.
Timossy—see Tomassee.
Tlageʻsi—“Field”; the Cherokee name for Lieutenant-Colonel W. W. Stringfield of Waynesville, N. C., one of the officers of the Cherokee contingent in the Thomas Legion. It is an abbreviated rendering of his proper name.
tlageʻsitunʻ—a song form for tlageʻsia-stunʻi, “on the edge of the field,” from a stream.
tlaʻmeha—bat (dialectic forms, tsaʻmeha, tsaʻweha).
tlanuʻsiʻ—leech (dialectic form, tsanuʻsiʻ).
Tlanusiʻyi (abbreviated Tlanusiʻ)—“Leech place,” former important settlement at the junction of Hiwassee and Valley river, the present site of Murphy, in Cherokee county, N. C.; also a point on Nottely river, a few miles distant, in the same county. The name appears also as Clennuse, Klausuna, Quoneashee, etc.
tlaʻnuwa (dialetic forms, tsaʻnuwaʻ, suʻnawaʻ, “sinnawah”)—a mythic great hawk.
tlaʻnuwaʻusdi—“little tlaʻnuwaʻ”; probably the goshawk (Astur atricapillus).
Tlaʻnuwaʻatsi Yelunʻisunʻyi—“where the Tlaʻnuwa cut it up,” from tlaʻnuwaʻ, q. v., and tsiyelunʻiskuʻ, an archaic form for tsigunilunʻiskuʻ, “I am cutting it up.” A place on Little Tennessee river, nearly opposite the entrance of Citico creek, in Blount county, Tenn.
Tlaʻnuwaʻi—“Tlaʻnuwa place,” a cave on the north side of Tennessee river, a short distance below the entrance of Citico creek, in Blount county, Tenn.
tlaykuʻ—jay (dialectic form, tsaykuʻ).
tluntiʻsti—the pheasant (Bonasa umbella), called locally grouse or partridge.
tluntuʻtsi—panther (dialectic form, tsuntuʻski).
tlutluʻ—the martin bird (dialectic form, tsutsuʻ).
Tocax—a place, apparently in the Cherokee country, visited by Pardo in 1567. It may possibly have a connection with Toxaway (see Duksaʻi) or Toccoa (see Tagwaʻhi).
Toccoa—see Tagwaʻhi.
Toco—see Dakwaʻi.
Tollunteeskee—see Ataʻluntiʻski.
Tomassee (also written Timossy and Tymahse)—the name of two or more former Cherokee settlements, viz.: 1. On Tomassee creek of Keowee river, in Oconee county, S. C.; 2. On Little Tennessee river, near the entrance of Burningtown creek, in Macon county, N. C. The correct form and interpretation are unknown.
Tomatola, Tomotley—see Tamaʻli.
Tooantuh—see Duʻstuʻ.
Toogelah—see Dugiluʻyi.
Toqua—see Dakwaʻi.
Toxaway—see Dukasʻi.
Track Rock gap—see Datsuʻnalasgunʻyi.
Tsagaʻsi—a Cherokee sprite.
tsaʻgi—upstream, up the road; the converse of geʻi.
Tsaiyiʻ—see Untsaiyiʻ.
Tsaʻladihiʻ—Chief N. J. Smith of the East Cherokee. The name might be rendered “Charley-killer,” from Tsali, “Charley,” and dihiʻ, “killer” (in composition), but is really a Cherokee equivalent for Jarrett (Tsaladiʻ), his middle name, by which he was frequently addressed. Cf. Tagwadihi.
tsal-agayunʻli—“old tobacco,” from tsalu, tobacco, and agayunʻli or agayunʻlige, old, ancient; the Nicotiana rustica or wild tobacco.
Tsaʻlagiʻ (Tsaʻragiʻ in Lower dialect)—the correct form of Cherokee.
Tsaʻli—Charley; a Cherokee shot for resisting the troops at the time of Removal.
tsaliyuʻsti—“tobacco-like,” from tsalu, tobacco, and iyuʻsti, like; a generic name for the cardinal-flower, mullein and related species.
tsalu or tsalun (in the Lower dialect, tsaru)—tobacco; by comparison with kindred forms the other Iroquoian dialects the meaning “fire to hold in the mouth” seems to be indicated. Lanman spells it tso-lungh.
tsameha—see tlaʻmeha.
tsaʻnadiskaʻ—for tsandiskaiʻ, “they say.”
tsanaʻsehaʻiʻ—“so they say,” “they say about him.”
tsaneʻni—the scorpion lizard; also called giʻga-danegiʻski, q. v.
Tsani—John.
Tsantawuʻ—a masculine name which cannot be analyzed.
Tsan-ugaʻsita—“Sour John”; the Cherokee name for General John Sevier, and also the boy name of the Chief John Ross, afterward known as Guʻwisguwiʻ, q. v. Sikwiʻa, a Cherokee attempt at “Sevier,” is a masculine name upon the East Cherokee reservation.
tsanuʻsiʻ—see tlanuʻsiʻ.
tsaʻnuwaʻ—see tlaʻnuwaʻ.
tsaru—see tsalu.
Tsastaʻwi—a noted hunter formerly living upon Nantahala river, in Macon county, North Carolina; the meaning of the name is doubtful.
Tsatanuʻgi (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 Atlaʻnuwa, q. v. 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.
Tsatuʻgi (commonly written Chattooga or Chatuga)—a name occurring in two or three places in the old Cherokee country, but apparently of foreign origin. Possible Cherokee derivations are from words signifying respectively “he drank by sips,” from gatuʻgiaʻ, “I sip,” or “he has crossed the stream and come out upon the other side,” from gatuʻgi, “I have crossed,” etc. An ancient settlement of this name was on Chattooga river, a headstream 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.
Tsaʻwa Gakski—Joe Smoker, from Tsawa, “Joe,” and gakski, “smoker,” from gaʻgisku, “I am smoking.” The Cherokee name for Chief Joel B. Mayes, of the Cherokee Nation west.
Tsawaʻsi—a Cherokee sprite.
tsaʻweha—see tlaʻmeha.
tsay kuʻ—see tlay kuʻ.
Tsekʻsiniʻ—a Cherokee form for the name of General Andrew Jackson.
Tsesaʻni—Jessan, probably a derivative from Jesse; a masculine name upon the East Cherokee reservation.
Tseʻsi-Skaʻtsi—“Scotch Jesse”; Jesse Reid, present chief of the East Cherokee, so-called because of mixed Scotch ancestry.
tsetsaniʻli—“thy two elder brothers” (male speaking); “my elder brother” (male speaking), unginiʻli.
Tsgagunʻyi—“Insect place,” from tsgaya, insect, and yi, locative. A cave in the ridge eastward from Franklin, in Macon county, N. C.
tsgaya—insect, worm, etc.
Tsikamaʻgi—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, Ga., 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, Tenn. 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.
tsikiʻ—a word which renders emphatic that which it follows: as aʻstu, “very good,” astuʻ tsiki, “best of all.”
tsikikiʻ—the katydid; the name is an onomatope.
tsiʻkililiʻ—the Carolina chickadee (Parus carolinensis); the name is an onomatope.
Tsiksiʻtsi (Tuksiʻtsi is dialectic form; commonly written Tuckasegee)—1. a former Cherokee settlement about the junction of the two forks of Tuckasegee, above Webster, in Jackson county, N. C. (not to be confounded with Tikwaliʻtsi, q. v.). 2. A former settlement on a branch of Brasstown creek of Hiwassee river, in Towns county, Ga. The word has lost its meaning.
Tsiʻnawi—a Cherokee wheelwright, perhaps the first in the Nation to make a spinning-wheel and loom. The name cannot be analyzed.
tsineʻu—“I am picking it (something long) up”; in the Lower and Middle dialects, tsinigiʻu.
tsinigiʻu—see tsineʻu.
tsiskaʻgili—the large red crawfish; the ordinary crawfish is called tsistuʻna.
tsiʻskwa—bird.
tsiskwaʻgwa—robin, from tsiʻskwa, bird.
Tsiskwaʻhi—“Bird place,” from tsiʻskwa, bird, and hi, locative. Birdtown settlement on the East Cherokee reservation, in Swain county, N. C.
tsiskwaʻya—sparrow, literally “principal bird” (i. e., most widely distributed), from tsiʻskwa, bird, and ya, a suffix denoting principal or real.
Tsiskwunsdiʻadsistiʻyi—“where they killed Little-bird,” from Tsiskwunsdi, “little birds” (plural form.) A place near the head of West Buffalo creek, southeast of Robbinsville, in Graham county, N. C.
Tsilaluʻhi—“Sweet-gum place,” from tsilaʻluʻ, sweet gum (Liquidambar) and hi, locative. A former settlement on a small branch of Brasstown creek of Hiwassee river, just within the line of Towns county, Ga. The name is incorrectly rendered Gum-log (creek).
Tsistetsiʻyi—“Mouse place,” from tsistetsi, mouse, and yi, locative. A former settlement on South Mouse creek, of Hiwassee river, in Bradley county, Tenn. The present town of Cleveland, upon the same creek, is known to the Cherokee under the same name.
tsist-imo ʻgosto—“rabbit foods” (plural), from tsiʻstu, rabbit, and uniʻgisti, plural of agiʻsti, food, from tsiyiʻgiu “I am eating” (soft food). The wild rose.
tsistu—rabbit.
tsistuʻna—crawfish; the large-horned beetle is also so called. The large red crawfish is called tsiskaʻgili.
Tsistuʻyi—“Rabbit place,” from tsistu, rabbit, and yi, locative. 1. Gregory bald, high peak of the Great Smoky range, eastward from Little Tennessee river, on the boundary between Swain county, N. C., and Blount county, Tenn. 2. A former settlement on the north bank of Hiwassee river at the entrance of Chestua creek, in Polk county, Tenn, The name of Choastea creek of Tugaloo river, in Oconee county, S. C., is probably also a corruption from the same word.
Tsiyaʻhi—“Otter place,” from tsiyu, otter, and yi, locative; variously spelled Cheowa, Cheeowhee, Chewohe, Chewe, etc. 1. A former settlement on a branch of Keowee river, near the present Cheohee, Oconee county, S. C. 2. A former and still existing Cherokee settlement on Cheowa river, about Robbinsville, in Graham county, N. C. 3. A former settlement in Cades Cove, on Cove creek, in Blount county, Tenn.
Tsiʻyi-gunsiʻni—“He is dragging a canoe,” from tsiʻyu, canoe (cf. tsiʻyu) otter, and gunsiʻni, “he is dragging it.” “Dragging Canoe,” a prominent leader of the hostile Cherokee in the Revolution. The name appears in documents as Cheucunsene and Kunnesee.
Tskil-eʻgwa—“Big-witch,” from atsikiliʻ, or tskiluʻ, witch, owl, and eʻgwa, big; an old man of the East Cherokee, who died in 1896. Although translated Big-witch by the whites, the name is understood by the Indians to mean Big-owl, having been originally applied to a white man living on the same clearing, and noted for his large staring eyes.
tskiliʻ (contracted from atskiliʻ)—1. witch; 2. the dusky-horned owl (Bubo virginianus saturatus).
tskwaʻyi—the great white heron or American egret. (Herodias egretta).
Tsolungh—see tsalu.
Tsudaʻye lunʻyi—“Isolated place”; an isolated peak near the head of Cheowa river, northeast of Robbinsville, in Graham county, N. C. The root of the word signifies detached, or isolated, whence Udaʻye lunʻyi, the Cherokee outlet, in Ind. Ter.
Tsundaʻtalesunʻyi—“where pieces fall off,” i. e., where the banks are caving in; from adataleʻi, “it is falling off,” ts, distance prefix, “there,” and yi, locative. The Cherokee name for the present site of Memphis, Tenn., overlooking the Mississippi and formerly known as the Chickasaw bluff.
Tsuʻdinuntiʻyi—“Throwing-down place”; a former settlement on lower Nantahala river, in Macon county, N. C.
Tsugiduʻli ulsgiʻsti (from tsugiduʻli, plural of ugiduli, one of the long wing or tail feathers of a bird, and ulsgiʻsti or ulsgiʻta, a dance)—the feather or eagle dance.
Tsukilunnunʻyi—“Where he alighted”; two bald spots on a mountain at the head of a Little Snowbird creek, near Robbinsville, Graham county, N. C.
tsungiliʻsi—plural of ungiliʻsi, q. v.
tsunginiʻsi—plural of unginiʻsi, q. v.
tsunkinaʻtli—“my younger brothers” (male speaking).
tsunkitaʻ—“my younger brothers” (female speaking).
tsula—fox; cf. tsulu, kingfisher and tlutluʻ or tsulsuʻ, martin. The black fox is inaʻli. The Creek word for fox is chula.
tsulaʻski—alligator; the name is of uncertain etymology.
Tsulaʻsinunʻyi—“Footprint place.” A place on Tuckasee river, about a mile above Deep creek, in Swain county, N. C.
Tsulaʻwi—see Tsulunweʻi.
Tsuleʻhisanunʻhi—“Resurrected One,” from diʻgwaleʻhisanunʻhi, “I was resurrected.” literally, “I was down and have risen.” Tsaʻlagiʻ, Tsuleʻhisanunhi, the Cherokee title of the newspaper known to the whites as the Cherokee Phoenix. The Cherokee title was devised by Worcester and Boudinot as suggesting the idea of the phoenix of classic fable. The Indian name of the recent “Cherokee Advocate” is Tsaʻlagi Asdeliʻski.
Tsul kaluʻ—“Slanting-eyes,” literally “he has them slanting” (or leaning up against something); the prefix ts makes it a plural form, and the name is understood to refer to the eyes, although the word eye (aktaʻ, plural diktaʻ) is not a part of it. Cf. Ataʻ-gulkalu. A mythic giant and ruler of the game. The name has been corrupted to Jutaculla and Tuli-cula. Jutaculla rock and Jutaculla old fields about the head of Tuckasegee river, in Jackson, North Carolina, take their name from him.
Tsulkaluʻ tsunegunʻyi—see Tsunegunʻyi.
tsulieʻna—the nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis); the word signifies literally “deaf” (a plural form referring to the ear, guleʻ) although no reason is given for such a name.
tsulu—kingfisher. Cf. tsula.
Tsulunweʻi—(abbreviated Tsulunʻwe or Tsulaʻwi, possibly connected with tsulu, kingfisher)—Chilhowee creek, a north tributary of Little Tennessee river, in Blount county, Tennessee.
Tsundaniltiʻyi—“where they demanded the debt from him”; a place on Little Santeetal river, west of Robbinsville, in Graham county, North Carolina. The creek also is commonly known by the same name.
Tsundigeʻwi—“Closed anuses,” literally “they have them closed,” understood to refer to the anus; from digeʻwi, plural of geʻwi, closed, stopped up, blind; cf. Tsulkaluʻ; also Gulisgeʻwi, “Blind, or closed, ears,” an old personal name.
Tsunʻdigwunʻtski (contracted from tsunʻdigwuntsugi, “they have them forked,” referring to the peculiar forked tail; cf. Tsulkaluʻ)—a migratory bird which once appeared for a short time upon the East Cherokee reservation, apparently, from the description, the scissortail or swallow-tailed fly-catcher (Milvulus forficatus).
Tsunegunʻyi (sometimes called Tsulkaluʻ Tsunegunʻyi)—Tennessee Bald, at the extreme head of Tuckasegee river, on the east line of Jackson county, North Carolina. The name seems to mean “there where it is white,” from ts, a prefix indicating distance, uneʻga, white, and yi, locative.
Tsunilʻ kalu—the plural form for Tsul kalu, q. v., a traditional giant tribe in the west.
tsunisʻtsahi—“(those) having topnots or crests,” from ustsahuʻ, “having a topknot,” ustsahiʻ, “he has a topknot” (habitually).
Tsuniyaʻtiga—“Naked People”; literally “They are naked there,” from uyaʻtiga, naked (singular), with the prefix ts, indicating distance. A traditional western tribe.
tsun-kaʻwi-yeʻ, tsun-sikwa-yaʻ, tsun-tsuʻla-yaʻ, tsun-waʻya-yaʻ—“I am (tsun or tsi, verbal prefix) a real (ya, ye, noun suffix) deer” (kawiʻ, archaic for a wiʻ); opossum, siʻkwa; fox, tsula; wolf, waya. Archaic song forms.
tsunsdiʻ—contracted from tsunsdiʻga, the plural of usdiʻga or usdiʻ, small.
Tsunuʻlahunʻski—“He tries, but fails” (habitually), from detsinuʻlahunʻski (q. v.), “I tried, but failed.” A former noted chief among the East Cherokee, commonly known to the whites as Junaluska. In early life he was called Gulkalaʻski, a name which denotes something habitually falling from a leaning position (cf. Ata-gul kaluʻ and Tsul kaluʻ).
tsunuʻ liyuʻsunestlaʻta—“they have split noses,” (from agwaliyuʻ, “I have it,” and unestlauʻ, “it is cracked” (as a crack made by the sun’s heat in a log or in the earth)); the initial s makes it refer to the nose, kayasaʻ.
Tsusginaʻi—“the Ghost country,” from asgiʻna, “ghost,” i, locative, and ts, a prefix denoting distance. The land of the dead; it is situated in Usunhiʻyi, the Twilight land, in the west.
Tsutaʻtsinasunʻyi—“Eddy place.” A place on Cheowa river at the mouth of Cochran creek, in Graham county, N. C.
tsutsuʻ—see tlutluʻ.
tsuntuʻtsi—see tluntuʻtsi.
tsuwaʻ—the mud-puppy or water dog (Menopoma or Protonopsis).
Tsuwaʻtelʻda—a contraction of tsuwaʻteldunʻyi; the name has lost its meaning. Pilot Knob, north from Brevard, in Transylvania county, N. C.
Tsuwaʻ-uniytsunʻyi—“where the water-dog laughed.” from tsuwaʻ, q. v., “water-dog,” uniyeʻtsu, “they laughed” (agiyetʻsku, “I am laughing”) and yi, locative; Tusquittee Bald, near Hayesville, in Clay county, N. C.
Tsuweʻnahi—A traditional hunter, in communication with the invisible people. The name seems to mean “He has them in abundance,” an irregular or archaic form for Uweʻnai, “he has abundance,” “he is rich,” from agweʻnaiʻ, “I am rich.” As a masculine name it is used as the equivalent of Richard.
Tuckalechee—see Tikwahʻtsi.
Tuckasegee—see Tsiksiʻtsi.
Tugaloo—see Dugiluʻyi.
tugaluʻ—the cry of the dagulku, goose.
tugaluʻna—a variety of small fish, about four inches long, frequenting the larger streams (from galuʻna, a gourd, on account of its long nose).
tuksiʻ—the terrapin or land tortoise; also the name of a Cherokee chief about the close of the Revolution. Saliguʻgi, common turtle; soft-shell turtle, Uʻlanaʻwa.
Tuksiʻtsi—see Tsiksiʻtsi.
Tuli-cula—see Tsuiʻkaluʻ.
tulskuʻwa—“he snaps with his head,” from uskaʻ, head; the snapping beetle.
Tunaʻi—a traditional warrior and medicine man of old Itsaʻti; the name cannot be analyzed.
Turkeytown—see Gun-diʻgaduhunʻyi.
Turniptown—see Uʻlunyi.
Tuskegee—see Taʻskiʻgi.
Tusquittee Bald—see Tsuwaʻ-uniyetsunʻyi.
Tusquittee creek—see Daskwitunʻyi.
tuʻsti—for tustiʻga, a small bowl; larger jars are called diwaʻli and untiʻya.
tuti—snowbird.
Tutiʻyi—“Snowbird place,” from tuʻti, snowbird, and yi, locative. Little Snow-bird creek of Cheowa river, in Graham county, N. C.
tuʻtsahyesiʻ—“he will marry you.”
tuʻya—bean.
tuʻya-diskalawʻstiʻski—see tiʻgu.
tuʻyahusiʻ—“she will die.”
Tymahse—see Tomassee.
Uchee—see Aniʻ-Yuʻtsi.
udaʻhaleʻyi—“on the sunny side.”
udaʻi—the baneberry or cohosh vine (Actaea?). The name signifies that the plant has something long hanging from it.
udaʻli—“(it is) married”; the mistletoe, so-called on account of its parasitic habit.
Uʻdawagunʻta—“Bald.” A bald mountain of the Great Smoky range, in Yancy county, N. C., not far from Mount Mitchell.
Udsiʻskala—a masculine name.
ugaʻsita—sour.
uʻgiskaʻ—“he is swallowing it”; from tsikiuʻ, “I am eating.”
uʻgukuʻ—the hooting or barred owl.
ugunsteʻli (ugunsteʻlu in dialect form)—the horny-head fish.
Ugunʻyi—Tallulah falls, on the river of that name, northeast from Clarksville, in Habersham county, Ga. The meaning of the name is lost.
Uilata—see Uʻtlunʻta.
uk-kuʻsuntsutetiʻ—“it will twist up one’s arm.”
Uk-kuʻsuntsutiʻ—“Bent-bow-shape”; a comic masculine name.
Uk-kunagiʻsti—“it will draw down one’s eye.”
Uk-kwunagiʻta—“eye-drawn-down”; a comic masculine name.
uksuʻhi—the mountain blacksnake or black racer (coluber obsoletus); the name seems to refer to some pecularity of the eye, aktaʻ, uksuhhaʻ, “he has something lodged in his eye.”
Ukteʻna—“Keen-eyed (?)” from aktaʻ, eye, aktaʻti, to examine closely. A mythic great-horned serpent, with a talismanic diadem.
Ukteʻna-tsuganunʻyi—“where the Uktena got fastened.” A spot on Tuckasegee river, about two miles above Bryson City, in Swain county, N. C.
Ukwuʻnu (or Ukwuʻni)—a former Cherokee settlement, commonly known to the whites as Oconee, on Seneca creek, near the present Walhalla, in Oconee county, S. C.
Ulaʻguʻ—the mythical original of the yellow-jacket tribe. The word signifies “leader,” “boss,” or “principal one,” and is applied to the first yellow-jacket (dʻskaʻi) seen in the spring, to a queen bee and to the leader of a working squad.
uʻlanaʻwa—the soft-shell turtle; see also saliguʻgi and tuksiʻ.
ulasuʻla—moccasin, shoe.
uleʻ—and; uleʻ-nu, and also.
ulskwulteʻgi—a “pound mill,” a self-acting water-mill used in the Cherokee mountains. The name signifies that “it butts with its head” (Uskaʻ, head), in allusion to the way in which the pestles work in the mortar. The generic word for mill is distʻsti.
ulstitluʻ—literally “it is on his head.” The diamond crest on the head of the mythic Uktena serpent. When detached it becomes Ulunsuʻti.
Ultiwaʻi—a former Cherokee settlement above the present Ooltewah, on the creek of the same name, in James county, Tenn.
ulunniʻta—domesticated, tame; may be used for persons as well as animals, but not for plants; for cultivated or domesticated plants the adjective is gunutlunʻi or gunusunʻi.
Ulunsuʻti—“Transparent”; the great talismanic crystal of the Cherokee.
ulunʻta—“it has climbed,” from tsilahiʻ, “I am climbing”; the poison oak (Rhus radicans).
Uʻlunʻyi—“Tuber place,” from Uʻliʻ, a variety of edible tuber, and yi, locative. A former settlement upon Turniptown, (for Uʻlunʻyi) creek, above Ellijay, in Gilmer county, Ga.
Unacala—see Uniʻgadihiʻ.
Uʻnadantiʻyi—“Place where they conjured,” the name of a gap about three miles east of Webster, in Jackson county, N. C., and now transferred to the town itself.
unadeʻna—woolly, downy, (in speaking of animals); uwaʻnu, wool, down, fine fur (detached from the animal).
uʻnahuʻ—see unahwiʻ.
uʻnahiʻ—heart; in Middle and Lower dialects, unahuʻ.
Unaka—see uneʻga and Unicoi.
unatlunweʻhitu—“it has spirals”; a plant (unidentified) used in conjuration.
uneʻga—white.
uneʻguhi—“he is (was) mischievous or bad”; tsuneʻguhiʻyu, “you are very mischievous” (said to a child).
uneʻgutsatuʻ—“(he is) mischievous”; aʻgineʻgutsatuʻ, “I am mischievous.”
Uneʻlanunʻhi—“The Apportioner”; “I am apportioning,” ganeʻlaskuʻ; “I apportion” (habitually), ganeʻlaski. In the sacred formulas a title of the Sun God; in the Bible the name of God.
uneʻstalun—ice.
Unicoi—the map name of the Unicoi turnpike, of a gap on the watershed between Chattahoochee and Hiwassee river, in Georgia, and of a county in Tennessee. Probably a corruption of uneʻga, white, whence comes also Unaka, the present map name of a part of the Great Smoky range.
uniʻgisti—foods; singular, agiʻsti.
Unigaʻyataʻtiʻyi—“where they made a fish trap,” from ugaʻyatunʻi, fish trap, and yi, locative; a place on Tuckasegee river, at the mouth of Deep creek, near Bryson City, in Swain county, N. C.
Uniʻhaluna—see Ahaluʻna.
Unikaʻwa—the “Town-house dance,” so-called because danced inside the town-house.
Uneʻga-dihiʻ—“White-man-killer”; from uneʻga, “white,” for yunʻwuneʻga, “white person,” and dihiʻ, a noun suffix denoting “killer,” “he kills them” (habitually). A Cherokee chief, whose name appears on the documents about 1790.
ungidaʻ—“thy two elder brothers” (male speaking).
unginiʻli—“my elder brother.”
unginiʻsi (plural, tsunginiʻsi)—“my daughter’s child.”
uʻniskwetuʻgi—“they wear a hat,” ulskweʻtawaʻ, hat from uskaʻ, head. The May apple (Podophyllum).
unistilunʻisti—“they stick on along their whole length”; the generic name for “stickers” and burrs, including the Spanish needle, cockle burr, jimson weed, etc.
uniʻtsi—her mother; agitsiʻ, my mother.
Uniyaʻhitunʻyi—“where they shot it,” from tsiyaʻihuʻ. “I shot,” and yi, locative. A place on Tuckasegee river a short distance above Bryson City, in Swain county, N. C.
Unliʻta—“(He is) long-winded,” an archaic form for the regular word, gunliʻta; an old masculine name. A chief about the year 1790, known to the whites as “The Breath.”
Untoola—see Dihiyunʻdulaʻ.
Untaʻkiyastiʻyi—“Where they race,” from takiyaʻta, a race, and yi, locative; locally corrupted to Tahkeyostee. The district on the French Broad river, around Asheville, in Buncombe county, N. C. The town itself is known to the Cherokee as Kasduʻyi, “Ashes place,” (from kasdu, ashes, and yi, locative), which is intended as a translation of its proper name.
Unʻtiguhiʻ—“Pot in water,” from or untiʻya, pot, and guliʻ, “it is in the water” (or other liquid, habitually). The Suck, a dangerous rapid in Tennessee river, at the entrance of Suck creek, about eight miles below Chattanooga, Tenn.
Untlasgastiʻyi—“Where they scratched”; a place at the head of Hyatt’s creek of Valley river, in Cherokee county, N. C.
Untoola—see Dihyunʻdulaʻ.
Untsailiʻ (also Etsaiyiʻ, or Tsaiyiʻ, the first syllable being almost silent)—“Brass.”
unwadaʻli—store-house, provision house.
Unwada-tsuʻgilasunʻ—“Where the storehouse (unwadaʻli) was taken off.” Either Black Rock or Jones' Knob, northeast of Webster, on the east line of Jackson county, N. C.
ununʻti—milk.
usdiʻga (abbreviated usdiʻ)—small; plural tsunsdiʻga, tsundiʻ.
usgaʻseʻtiʻyu—very dangerous, very terrible; intensive of usgaʻseʻti.
Uskwaleʻna—“Big-Head,” from uskaʻ, head; a masculine name, perhaps the original of the “Bull-head,” given by Haywood as the name of a former noted Cherokee warrior.
Uskwaʻli-guʻta—“His stomach hangs down,” from uskwaʻli, his stomach, and guʻta, “it hangs down.” A prominent chief of the Revolutionary period, known to the whites as Hanging-maw.
Uʻstanaʻli (from Uʻstanalaʻhi or uniʻstanaʻla (a plural form), denoting a natural barrier of rocks (plural) across a stream)—a name occurring in several places in the old Cherokee country, and variously spelled Eastinaulee, Eastinora, Estanaula, Eustenaree, Istanare, Oostanaula, Oostinawley, Ustenary, etc.
uʻstuti—see utsuʻgi.
Ustuʻtli—a traditional dangerous serpent. The name signifies having something on the calf of the leg or on the heel, from ustutunʻi “(his) calf of the leg (attached).” It is applied also to the Southern hoop-snake.
Usunhiʻyi—the “Darkening land,” “where it is always getting dark,” as at twilight. The name used for the west in the myths and the sacred formulas; the common word is wudeʻligunʻyi, “there where it (the sun) goes down.”
uʻtanu—great, fully developed. Cf. eʻgwa.
utawaʻhilu—“hand breadth,” from uwaʻyi, hand. A figurative term used in the myths and sacred formulas.
Uʻtawagunʻta—“Bald place.” A high bald peak in the Great Smoky range on the Tenn.-N. C. line, northeast from Big Pigeon river.
Uʻtlunʻta—“He (or she) has it sharp,” i. e., has some sharp part or organ; it might be used of a tooth, a finger-nail, or some other attached part of the body.
Uʻtluntunʻyi—“Uʻtlunʻta place”; see Uʻtlunʻta. A place on Little Tennessee river, nearly off Citico creek, in Blount county, Tenn.
Uʻtsala—“Lichen”; another form of utsaleʻta. A Cherokee chief of Removal period in 1838.
utsaleʻta—lichen, literally “pot scrapings,” from a fancied resemblance.
utsaʻnatiʻ—rattlesnake; the name is of doubtful etymology, but is said to refer to the rattle.
Utsaʻnatiʻyi—“Rattlesnake place.” Rattlesnake springs, about two miles south from Charlestown, Bradley county, Tenn.
utsetʻsti—“he grins” (habitually). See siʻkwa utsetʻsti.
utsiʻ—her (his) mother; etsiʻ, agitsiʻ, my mother.
Utsiʻdsataʻ—“Corn-tassel,” “Thistle-head,” etc. It is used as a masculine name, and was probably the Cherokee name of the chief of Revolutionary times, known as “Old Tassel.”
utsuʻgi—the tufted titmouse (Parus bicolor); also called uʻstutiʻ, “topnot, or tip,” on account of its crest.
uʻtsutiʻ—fish. Also, many.
Uwagaʻhi (commonly written Ocoee)—“Apricot place,” from uwaʻga, the “apricot vines,” or “maypop,” (Passiflora incarnata), and hi, locative. A former important settlement on Ocowe river, near its junction with Hiwassee, about the present Benton, in Polk county, Tenn.
uwaʻyi—hand, paw, generally used with the possessive suffix, as uwayeʻni, “his hand.”
uweʻla—liver.
uweʻnahi—rich; used also as a personal name.
Uwʻtsunʻta—“Bouncer” (habitual); from kʻtsi, “it is bouncing.” A traditional serpent described as moving by jerks like a measuring worm, to which also the name is applied.
Uyahyeʻ—a high peak in the Great Smoky range, probably on the line between Swain county, N. C., and Sevier county, Tenn.
Uyʻgilaʻgi—abbreviated from Tsuyuʻgilaʻgi, “where there are dams,” i. e., beaver dams; from guʻgiluʻunskuʻ, “he is damming it.” 1. A former settlement on Oothcaloga (Ougillogy) creek of Oostanaula river, near the present Calhoun, in Gordon county, Ga.; 2. Beaverdam creek, west of Clarksville, in Habbersham county, Ga.
Valleytown—see Guʻnahitunʻyi.
Vengeance creek—see Gansaʻtiʻyi.
Wachesa—see Watsiʻsu.
wadanʻ—thanks!
waʻdi—paint, especially red paint.
waʻdige-askaʻli—“his head (is) brown,” i. e., “brown-head”; from wadigeʻi, brown, brown-red, and askaʻli, head; the copperhead snake.
Wadiʻyahi—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.
Wafford—see Tsuskwanunʻta.
Waʻginsi—the name of an eddy at the junction of Little Tennessee and the main Tennessee rivers at Lenoir, in London county, Tenn. The town is now known to the Cherokee by the same name, of which the meaning is lost.
waguliʻ—whippoorwill; the name is an onomatope; the Delaware name is wekolis.
Wahnenauhi—see Waniʻnahi.
waʻhuhuʻ—the screech-owl.
waʻka—cow; from the Spanish vaca, as is also the Creek waga and the Arapaho wakuch.
walaʻsi—the common green frog.
Walasiʻyi—“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, Ga. 2. Le Conte and Bullhead Mountains in the Great Smoky range on the N. C.-Tenn. line, together with the ridge extending into Sevier county, Tenn., between the Middle and West forks of Little Pigeon river.
walasʻ-unulʻsti—“it fights frogs,” from walaʻsi, frog, and unulʻsti, “it fights” (habitually); guʻlihuʻ, “I am fighting.” The Prosartes lanuginosa plant.
Walasʻ-unulstiyiʻ—“Place of the plant,” walasʻ-unulʻsti, commonly known to the whites as Fightingtown, from a translation of the latter part of a name; a former settlement on Fighting creek, near Morgantown, in Fannin county, Ga.
Waliniʻ—a feminine name, compounded from Wali, another form of Kwali, “Polly,” with a suffix added for euphony.
Waneʻ-asunʻtlunyi—“Hickory footlog place,” from waneʻi, hickory, asun-tlunʻi (q. v.), footlog, bridge, and yi, locative. A former settlement, known to the whites as Hickory-log, on Etowah river, a short distance above Canton, in Cherokee county, Ga.
Waniʻnahiʻ—a feminine name of uncertain etymology; the Wahnenauhi of the Wahnenauhi manuscript.
Washington—see Waʻsituʻna.
Waʻsi—the Cherokee form for Moses.
Waʻsituʻna, Waʻsuntuʻna (different dialect forms)—a Cherokee known to the whites as Washington, the sole survivor of a Removal tragedy. The name denotes a hollow log (or other cylindrical object) lying on the ground at a distance; the root of the word is asiʻta, log, and the w prefix indicates distance.
Waʻsuluʻ—a large red-brown moth which flies about blossoming tobacco in the evening.
Wataʻgi (commonly written Watauga, also Wataga, 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, N. C.; another was traditionally located at Watauga Old Fields, about the present Elizabethton on Wateuga river, in Carter county, Tenn. The meaning is lost.
Watauʻga—see Wataʻgi.
Watsiʻsa—a prominent old Cherokee, known to the whites as Wachesa, a name which cannot be translated, who formerly lived on Beaverdam creek of Hiwassee river, below Murphy, in Cherokee county, N. C. From the fact that the Unicoi turnpike passed near his place, it was locally known as Wachesa trail.
waʻya—wolf; an onomatope, an imitation of the animal’s howl; cf. the Creek name, yaha.
Waʻyaʻhi—“Wolf place,” i. e., place of the Wolf clan; the form AniʻWaʻyaʻhi is not used. Wolftown settlement on upper Soco creek, on the East Cherokee reservation, in Jackson county, N. C.
Waya Gap—see Aʻtahiʻta.
Wayeh—see Wayi.
Wayi—“Pigeon”; the modern Cherokee name for Big Pigeon river, in western N. C.; probably a translation of the English name. It appears also as Wayeh.
Welch, Lloyd—see Daʻsiʻgiyaʻgi.
wesa—cat.
White-path—see Nunnaʻhi-tsuneʻga.
Willstown—a former important settlement, so-called from the half-breed chief known to the whites as Red-headed Will, on Will’s creek below Fort Payne, in Dekalb county, Ala. The settlement was frequently called from him Wiliʻyi, “Will’s place,” but this was not the proper local name.
Wilsiniʻ—The Cherokee name for H. W. Spray, agent and superintendent for the East Cherokee reservation; an adaptation of his middle name, Wilson.
Wil-usdiʻ—“Little Will,” from Wiliʻ, Will and usdiʻga or usdiʻ, little. The Cherokee name for Colonel W. H. Thomas, for many years the recognized chief of the eastern band.
Wissactaw—see gahawiʻstia.
Wolftown—see Waʻyaʻhi.
Wootassite—see Outacity.
Wrosetasatow—see Outacity.
Wudeʻligunʻyi—the west; literally “there where it (the sun) goes down,” (w prefixed implies distance, yi, locative). See also Usunhiʻyi and wusuhihunʻyi.
Wuligaʻnatutun—excelling all others, either good or bad; it may be used as equivalent to wastun, “beyond the limit.”
wusuhihunʻyi—“there where they stay over night,” i. e., “the west.” An archaic term used by the narrator of the story of Untsaiyiʻ.
Xuala—see Ani-Suwaʻli.
ya—a suffix denoting principal or real, as tsiskwaʻya, “principal bird,” the sparrow; Aniʻ-Yunwiyaʻ, “principal or real people,” Indians.
Yahulaʻli—“Yahuʻla place,” from Yuhuʻla, a Cherokee trader said to have been taken by the spirit people; Yahuʻla, seems to be from the Creek yohoʻlo, a name having reference to the song (yoholo), used in the “black drink” ceremony of the Creeks; thus aʻsi-yohoʻlo, corrupted into Osceola, signified “the black drink song”; it may, however, be a true Cherokee word, yahuʻlu or yahuʻli, the name for a variety of hickory, also for the “doodle-bug”; Unyahuʻla is a feminine name, but cannot be translated. Yahoola creek, near Dahlonega, in Lumpkin county, Ga.
Yalaʻgi—Alarka creek of Little Tennessee river, above the junction of Tuckasegee, in Swain county, N. C.; the meaning of the name is lost.
yandaskaʻga—a faultfinder.
Yan-eʻgwa—“Big-Bear,” from yanu, bear, and egwa, great, large. A prominent chief about the year 1800; the name occurs in treaties as Yonah, Yohanaqua and Yonahequah.
yaʻnu—bear.
Yaʻnu-dinehunʻyi—“where the bears live,” from yanu, bear, dinehuʻ, “they dwell” (eʻhu, “I dwell, I live”) and yi, locative. A place on Oconaluftee river, a short distance above the junction with Tuckasegee, in Swain county, N. C.
Yanugunʻski—“the bear drowns him” (habitually), from yanu, bear, and tsigunʻiskaʻ, “I am drowning him.” A noted East Cherokee chief, known to the whites as Yonaguska or Drowning-bear.
yanʻ-utseʻstu—“The bear lies on it”; the shield fern (Aspidium).
Yaʻnu-uʻnatawastiʻyi—“where the bears wash,” (from yanu, bear, and yi, locative); a former pond in the Great Smoky Mountains, about the head of Raven Fork, in Swain county, N. C.
Yawaʻi—“Yawa place”; a place on Yellow creek of Cheowa river, in Graham county, N. C.
Yohanaqua—see Yan-eʻgwa.
yoho-o!—an unmeaning song refrain.
Yonaguska—see Yaʻnugunʻski.
Yonah—1. (mountain) see Gadaluʻlu. 2. An abbreviated treaty form for the name of the chief Yanaʻgwa.
Yonahequah—see Yan-eʻgwa.
Ytaua, Ytava—see Iʻtawaʻ.
Yu!—an unmeaning song refrain and interjection.
Yuhaʻli—Euharlee creek, of lower Etowah river, in Bartow county, Ga. The name is said by the Cherokee to be a corruption of Yufala (Eufaula), a well known Creek local name.
yunsuʻ—buffalo; cf. Creek yenaʻsa, Choctaw yanash, Hichitee yaʻnasi.
Yunsaʻi—“Buffalo place”; West Buffalo creek of Cheowa river in Graham county, N. C.; the site of a former Cherokee settlement.
yunʻwi—person, man.
Yunʻwi Amaʻyineʻhi—“Water-dwelling people,” from yunʻwi, person, and amaʻyineʻhi, plural of amayeʻhi, q. v.; a race of water fairies.
Yunʻwi Gunahiʻta—“Long Man”; a formulistic name for the river, personified as a man with his head resting on the mountain and his feet stretching down to the lowlands, who is constantly speaking to those who can understand the message.
Yunʻwiniʻgisgi—“man-eaters,” literally, “They eat people” (habitually), from yunʻwi, person, man, and uni, giski, “they eat” (habitually), from tsikiuʻ, “I am eating”; the Cherokee name for a distant cannibal tribe, possibly the Atakapa or the Tonkawa.
Yunʻwi-tsulenunʻyi—“where man stood,” originally yunʻwi-dikatagunʻyi, “where the man stands,” from yunʻwi, person, man, tsitaʻga, “I am standing,” and yi, locative; Standing Indian, a high bald mountain at the head of Nantahala river, in Macon county, N. C.
Yunʻwi Tsunsdiʻ—“little people,” from yunʻwi, person, people, and tsunsdiʻga or tsunsdi, plural of usdiʻga or usdiʻ, little; the Cherokee fairies.
Yunʻwi Usdiʻ—“little man.” A formulistic name for ginseng, aʻtali-guliʻ, q. v.
Yunʻwi-usgaʻseʻti—“dangerous man, terrible man”; a traditional leader in the westward migration of Cherokee.
Yunʻwiyaʻ—“Indian,” literally, “principal or real person,” from yunʻwi, person, and ya, a suffix denoting principal or real.
yuʻwe-yuweheʻ—an unmeaning song refrain.
High Falls, Buck Forest, N. C.
“And it bounds full many a fathom
In its final furious fall.”
Melrose Falls, Tryon, N. C.
“Plunges down deep in the gulches
Where the rocks are worn with age.”