Where does “xeł ggaaggaʼ” come from?

xeł ggaaggaʼ (Ahtna) comes from Ahtna xeł, from Ahtna ghaetlʼ, from Proto-Athabaskan *ɣeˑtɬʼ — to be quiet, calm.

xeł ggaaggaʼ (Ahtna): little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)

Definitions

  1. little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)

Ancestry of “xeł ggaaggaʼ”, step by step

xeł ggaaggaʼ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Ahtna xeł

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ahtnaxełdarkness, nightfall
2Ahtnaghaetlʼto be(come) dark, quiet
3Proto-Athabaskan*ɣeˑtɬʼto be quiet, calm

via Ahtna ggaaggi

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ahtnaggaaggibird
Every word from Proto-Athabaskan *ɣeˑtɬʼ →Every word from Ahtna ghaetlʼ →Every word from Ahtna xeł →