Where does “bitseeʼ yee adiłhałii” come from?

bitseeʼ yee adiłhałii (Navajo) comes from Navajo bitseeʼ, from Navajo atseeʼ, from Proto-Athabaskan *-k̯eʼ — tail.

bitseeʼ yee adiłhałii (Navajo): alligator

Definitions

  1. alligator

Ancestry of “bitseeʼ yee adiłhałii”, step by step

bitseeʼ yee adiłhałii traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Navajo bitseeʼ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajobitseeʼ—
2Navajoatseeʼtail, tailbone, coccyx; tail feather
3Proto-Athabaskan*-k̯eʼtail

via Navajo yę́ę

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajoyę́ęaforementioned, the one already referred to, that...
Every word from Proto-Athabaskan *-k̯eʼ →Every word from Navajo atseeʼ →Every word from Navajo bitseeʼ →