-ZÉÍ

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *saːxy[1] ~ *zay (sand, to crumble). Compare Navajo séí (sand).

Cognates found in Tanacross thaayh (sand) and also Tlingit xágw (sand).[1]

Root

-ZÉÍ

  1. to crumble, be crumbly (as soft sandstone)
Theme Category Bases Transitive bases (O + ł)
di ? S crumbles S crumbles O
di adjectival S is crumbly

Stem set

Aspect IMP PERF FUT ITER OPT
MOM -zéí -zéí -zéí -zéí -zéí
MOM -séí -séí -séí -séí -séí
NEUT -zéí

See also Appendix: Roots and stems derivation.

Synonyms

to crumble, fall:

 

Derived terms

Navajo terms belonging to the root -ZÉÍ (crumble)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Jeff Leer (2010) “The palatal series in Athabascan-Eyak-Tlingit, with an overview of the basic sound correspondences”, in Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska: The Dene-Yeniseian, Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Press, page 175