Where does “béésh łitsoii” come from?

béésh łitsoii (Navajo) comes from Navajo béésh, from Navajo biiʼ, from Navajo kǫʼ, from Proto-Athabaskan *qʊ̓nʼ — fire.

béésh łitsoii (Navajo): brass

Definitions

  1. brass

Ancestry of “béésh łitsoii”, step by step

béésh łitsoii traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Navajo béésh

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajobééshflint; iron; metal
2Navajobiiʼin it/him/her/them, within it/him/her/them,...
3Navajokǫʼfire
4Proto-Athabaskan*qʊ̓nʼfire

via Navajo łitso

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajołitsoit is yellow; nickel
2Navajołi-An adjectival prefix that forms neuter imperfective verbs, especially those relating to color
3Navajo-ł-The -ł- classifier or valence-change prefix, a...
4Proto-Athabaskanɬ
Every word from Proto-Athabaskan *qʊ̓nʼEvery word from Navajo kǫʼEvery word from Navajo biiʼ