Where does “xełtsʼeʼ” come from?

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

xełtsʼeʼ (Ahtna): dusk, evening

Definitions

  1. dusk, evening

Ancestry of “xełtsʼeʼ”, step by step

xełtsʼeʼ 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 tsʼeʼ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ahtnatsʼeʼto, toward
2Proto-Athabaskan*tsʼənʔto, toward
Every word from Proto-Athabaskan *ɣeˑtɬʼ →Every word from Ahtna ghaetlʼ →Every word from Ahtna xeł →