Wednesday 14 December 2016

14th Lexember Word

ikkóte [iˈkːo̞ˑd͡ʑə̆], inalienably possessed noun: “rainwater; drinkwater; juice, broth, sauce, consumable liquid“

Originally posted by m00n-light-princess

So this post is basically a continuation of yesterday’s post about táw.

Wakkú refers to rain as a weather phenomenon. To refer to rain as the water that falls from the sky instead, Haotyétpi speakers use the word ikkóte (or ós ikkót if one wants to be precise).

But the use of ikkóte goes further. Maybe due to the Mountain Folk’s habit to use rain collectors for much of their water consumption, the word ikkóte is also used to refer to water that is safe to drink. This includes water that is collected from other sources (that would first be called táw) once it has been made consumable (if only by filtration). And either as an extension or as the original meaning of the word (I’m not sure exactly what the history of that word is), when a possessor is explicitly mentioned, ikkóte refers to a liquid that is made from or characterised by the possessor, and is consumable. This includes juices, sauces, or even warm liquids like broth, as long as water is their main ingredient.

This means, incidently, that Haotyétpi does not have a word that refers to water in general. There’s only táw and ikkóte, which must be used depending on the origin of the water and its fitness for drinking.

Notice also the seemingly contradictory táw ikkót, which refers to riverwater that is suitable for drinking.

No example today, I’m a little burned out.

No comments:

Post a Comment