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Definition 2025

łį́į́ʼ

łį́į́ʼ

See also: lii, Lii, LII, and li'i

Navajo

Noun

łį́į́ʼ ‎(possessed form bilį́į́ʼ)

  1. pet
  2. livestock
  3. horse

Inflection

Derived terms

References

  1. ↑ Sapir, Internal Linguistic Evidence Suggestive of the Northern Origin of the Navaho , p. 227

Etymology

Of the extant senses, "pet" is oldest; the original meaning, retained in Athabaskan cognates, was "dog."[1] Upon the reintroduction of the horse to North America, the Navajo language transferred the usage of łį́į́ʼ to the horse (which became the new favored "pet" in Navajo culture), with the dog being referred to by a derived term, łééchąąʼí (literally "**** pet"). Compare Dogrib tłı̨ ‎(“dog”).

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