Where does “ké ntsaaí” come from?

ké ntsaaí (Navajo) comes from Navajo ké, from Proto-Athabaskan *-qeʔ — foot.

ké ntsaaí (Navajo): high-top women’s moccasin

Definitions

  1. high-top women’s moccasin

Ancestry of “ké ntsaaí”, step by step

ké ntsaaí traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Navajo ké

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajokéfoot, feet; shoe
2Proto-Athabaskan*-qeʔfoot

via Navajo nitsaa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajonitsaait is big, large, huge
Every word from Proto-Athabaskan *-qeʔ →Every word from Navajo ké →