Where does “tsékʼiz” come from?

tsékʼiz (Navajo) comes from Navajo tsé, from Proto-Athabaskan *tseˑ, from Proto-Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit *caj.

tsékʼiz (Navajo): crevice, cleft in (a) rock

Definitions

  1. crevice, cleft in (a) rock

Ancestry of “tsékʼiz”, step by step

tsékʼiz traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Navajo tsé

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajotsérock, stone, boulder
2Proto-Athabaskan*tseˑstone
3Proto-Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit*caj—

via Navajo kʼiz

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajokʼizcrevice, gap
Every word from Proto-Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit *caj →Every word from Proto-Athabaskan *tseˑ →Every word from Navajo tsé →