Shape-Classifiers (medials/2^nd position)
prepared by Jesse Bruchac and Conor Quinn

Examples from Gordon Day Dictionary:

1. -akw- 1D object that is rigid (examples: metal, wood)

alna-hl-akw iron

tas-akw-abon a chair, the rigid object one sits on

kpaga-akw-ika thick deep woods

mso-akw-tegw dry wood river

mso-akw-bagw dry wood pond

adel-akw-esen it lies blocking the way, it lies across the path

adel-akw-asin he lies across the path, he lies blocking the way (as in a tree)

2. -tag- 1D non-rigid object (cord, string)

ahaza-tag-ia transparent material, lacey, a screen

piw-tag-a it is a stringlike thing, it is thin

piw-tag-haga he is thin bodied, thin wasted

kwena-tag-igamigw a long house

la-tag-eniga pull out, spin thread

msa-tag-ak it is coarse strong (or webbing)

skwôzon-tag-w – thread

wikw-tag-hozi pull self by rope

zow-tag-abo he sits with legs stretched out

almesak-tag a corridor, literally a stretch of floor ahead

3. -ag-/-ak- 2D non-rigid object (skin, peel, hide, cloth)

wôb-ak-s a shirt

wôb-ak-sis a little cloth

wôb-ak-s-igamigw a tent

pl-ag-na peel, skin, or scale (by hand)

pl-ag-niga peel, skin a fruit or fish

pl-ag-za peel with a knife

pkal-ag-enigan crooked knife, take off peeling by hand tool

l-ag-enigan a scraped or worked skin

wlipl-ag-igen it is well skinned (said of a cache which has been robbed)

sib-ak-higan a sail

bem-ak-si sail along

nod-ak-sid a sailor

4. -apsk- 3D object/lump (rock)

bem-apsk-wadena a rocky mountain place Mt Ascutney, VT

l-apsk-ahigan hewn stone

l-apsk-anigan a stone structure, a foundation, or a fireplace

mamad-apskw-ijoan it is a bad rocky current

nod-apsk-enigad a stone worker

wôl-apsk-a a hollow in a rock

5. -ôlag- something open, hollow, removed

w-ôlag-w a hole

nôj-ôlag-w a nostril

adeb-ôlag-w a rifle

agaskw-ôlag-w a woodchuck hole

asp-ôlag-w a hole of such a width, a wide open hole

asp-ôlag-w-don a wide open mouth

taw-ôlag-a-higan an instrument for making a hole, a drill

ms-ôlag-w-don-a he is big mouthed

ms-ôlag-w-don-asin his mouth lies wide open

azig-ôlag-igen it is full of holes

bezeg-ôlag-ata it is a very dark hole

wad-ôlag-ezid beaver house door

baskh-ôlag-i-gwa-taha shoot someones eye out

zôb-ôlag-ezo it is bored through from end to end (as in a pipe stem)

6. -ômk- 3D granular mass (sand, gravel, earth)

ben-ômk-ahla sand falls

ben-ômk-ipoda sand falls down

pkwa-ômk-ihla sand runs down

segwesk-ômk-i-podo he grinds something to a powder

ôdaw-ômk-a it is over a sand bank

ôgwa-ômk-wid Ogunquit, Maine, sand dunes

wôb-ômk-aik it is white sand, Point-du-lac, Quebec

wôb-ômk-ategw white sand river

sizig-ômk-i-joazid a trickle, a current like a steady trickle of tears or sand

7. -bag- liquid object (water, damp, moist, wet)

azi-bag-hi dip water to me, splash me with a paddle

ali-bag-taha pound it, ash splints

kottli-bag-enem mix by hand, stir up

azow-bag-ihla water changes directions

bada-bag-a water comes to us, tide comes in

mena-bag-i-lômsen rain a few drops with wind

mkazaw-bag-i-sibo dark water river

8. -jag- a soft and sticky mass (dirt, mud, clay, shit)

adaw-jag-enigamek what one works dough in, a wooden pan for baking bread

agwe-jag-elja it is a dirty hand

agwed-jag-ezid it is a dirty foot

agwe-jag-igwa a dirty face

agwe-jag-ikezen a dirty shoe

agwe-jag-i-nô-gwad it appears dirty

plage-jag-igek a wound or a sore

boskwe-jag-takawa to smash all up

kedaw-jag-ihla to sink in the mud

kiz-jag-na to finish roasting something as in bread

kottle-jag-po it precipitates mixed rain and snow

le-jag-niga to make bread

nod-jag-enigad a clay worker

zelig-jag-ena he crushes someone by hand to mush

zokwe-jag-taham he smashes by striking

agwed-jag-a-ozo he shits himself

Combininations of Shape-Classifiers

shape-classifier with a noun:

mkazaw-bag-i-sibo black water river

shape-classifier with a body part:

agwe-jag-igwa a dirty face

multiple shape-classifiers together:

-jag- + -bag-

agwed-jag-e-bag-a dirty water

-ag + -akw

pl-ag-akw-ada peel bark

-akw- + -tag-

ahôdaw-akw-tag a groove

shape-classifier and a sense:

agwe-jag-i-nô-gwad it appears dirty

tri-part medial/2^{nd position} order:

1. shape-classifiers

2. body parts-nouns

3. senses-verbs