Where does “tséyiʼ” come from?

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

tséyiʼ (Navajo): canyon

Definitions

  1. canyon

Ancestry of “tséyiʼ”, step by step

tséyiʼ 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 biyiʼ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Navajobiyiʼin it/him/her/them, within it/him/her/them,...
2Navajoiiʼwithin, inside of

Words derived from “tséyiʼ

Every word from Proto-Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit *cajEvery word from Proto-Athabaskan *tseˑEvery word from Navajo tsé