ᎧᎹᎹ

Cherokee

Etymology

From Proto-Iroquoian *kahnaːwẽːh. Sense of elephant comes from observation of flapping ears as similar to butterfly wings.[1][2]

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /kʰà.màːmã́/[3]

Noun

ᎧᎹᎹ • (kamama)

  1. butterfly
  2. elephant

Derived terms

References
  1. Charles Julian (2010) A history of the Iroquoian Languages‎, University of Manitoba, page 500
  2. Ellison, George (2007 May 16) “Cherokee language and zoology”, in Smoky Mountain News‎
  3. Brad Montgomery-Anderson (2008) A Reference Grammar of Oklahoma Cherokee, PhD thesis, University of Kansas, page 42
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