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English ¨C Seneca Dictionary

2

Read Me First

This dictionary contains Seneca words that were collected over many years from various

sources, both spoken and written. The collector was not a native speaker of the Seneca language,

but he aimed for broad coverage and accuracy in spelling. Producing a dictionary is a humbling

experience, and it is even more humbling when the language is not your own. Aside from

subtleties of meaning and use that may escape you, there are no boundaries to the resources of a

living language, no point where you can say, ¡°Now I have finished.¡±

There is, however, another problem in the case of the Seneca language. No practical

dictionary can contain anything close to all possible Seneca words. A single Seneca word can

often say what it would take a whole sentence to say in English, and as a result the number of

Seneca words is far greater than the number of English words. No dictionary of reasonable size

could possibly contain all of them. The entries here are arranged in a way that can be illustrated

with the following:

acquire, collect. For example: agy?:gw?h I've

collected it. ho:?gw?h he¡¯s collected it.

go:?gw?h she¡¯s collected it. hodi?gw?h

they¡¯ve collected it. gy?:gwas I collect it.

h??gwas he collects it. ye?gwas she collects

it. hadi?gwas they collect it. o¡¯gy?:go¡¯ I

collected it. wa??:go¡¯ he collected it.

wa¡¯e?go¡¯ she collected it. wa:di:?go¡¯ they

collected it. (*-r?ko-)

The heading of an entry (such as ¡®acquire, collect¡¯) is an English word, words, or phrase

that translates a meaning that is common to the following Seneca words. Because English

meanings do not always correspond to Seneca meanings, these headings may be rough

approximations. When there are two or more English words in the heading, as here, the entry is

repeated elsewhere with the words reversed. In this case there is another entry with the heading

¡®collect, acquire¡¯.

Many headings are followed by For example and then one or more Seneca words. These

Seneca words are only samples of the many words, often in the hundreds, that could be used to

translate the English. This example lists a few words that combine with ¡®I¡¯, ¡®he¡¯, ¡®she¡¯, and

¡®they¡¯, and with meanings like ¡®has done it¡¯, ¡®does it¡¯, and ¡®did it¡¯. But there are many other

possibilities, such as ?hni:?go¡¯ ¡®we (you and I) will collect it¡¯, ?yagw?:?go¡¯ ¡®we (three or more

of us, but not including you) will collect it¡¯, and so on. The particular words included in an entry

are only those that happen to have been recorded, often more or less by accident. Furthermore,

the order in which the examples are given follows no consistent plan.

When there are several possible English translations for the Seneca examples, the

translations are often those that were accidentally suggested for particular words. Thus, the entry

headed ¡®pity, be kind to, have affection for, sympathize with¡¯ includes, among other examples,

h?gi:d?:s they are kind to me, wa:gi:d?:¡¯ he had pity on me, g?d?:s I feel affection for you,

English ¨C Seneca Dictionary

3

ha¡¯d¨¦ked?:je¡¯ they are showing sympathy, and so on, but similar translations could be used for any of

these Seneca words. They simply illustrate the range of possibilities.

The examples are followed at the end of each entry by something that looks like

(*-r?ko-). This is a reconstructed ¡®base¡¯, from which additional Seneca words can be created,

using rules that are described elsewhere. Most users of this dictionary can ignore this

reconstructed base, but a few may be interested in learning how it can be used to create many

additional words.

The following abbreviations are used:

ex ¡®excluding the listener¡¯

in ¡®including the listener¡¯

du ¡®dual¡¯

pl ¡®plural¡¯

masc ¡®masculine¡¯

fem ¡®feminine¡¯

neut ¡®neuter¡¯

Seneca is spelled here with the following letters and other symbols:

Symbol

Sound

Example

a

e

i

o

u

?

?

?

w

n

y

d

dz

t

g

k

s

?

j

h

¡¯

a:

¨¢

¨¤:

a in ¡®father¡¯

e in ¡®they¡¯

i in ¡®police¡¯

o in ¡®note¡¯

u in ¡®tune¡¯

a in ¡®cat¡¯

e in ¡®men¡¯ (nasal)

o in ¡®own¡¯ (nasal)1

w in ¡®wash¡¯

n in ¡®not¡¯

y in ¡®yes¡¯

d in ¡®dog¡¯

dz in ¡®adze¡¯2

t in ¡®tail¡¯

g in ¡®girl¡¯

k in ¡®kite¡¯

s in ¡®sit¡¯

sh in ¡®show¡¯

j in ¡®job¡¯

h in ¡®hat¡¯

middle of ¡®uh-oh¡¯

long vowel

high pitched vowel

long vowel with falling pitch

o¡¯w¨¤:¡¯

gage:da¡¯

dekni:h

hakso:t

niw¨²¡¯u:h

g?:ha¡¯

?:deh

?:gweh

wahda¡¯

n?:g?:h

ye:i¡¯

dosg?h

dza:dak or ja:dak

oto:we¡¯

ge:ih

o¡¯ke:g?¡¯

s?h

?a:s?h

johd?:h

ha¡¯nih

h?¡¯?h

wa¡¯a:g?¡¯

ahd¨¢hgwa¡¯

?g¨¤:t

1

2

But halfway to the o in ¡®on¡¯.

Some people pronounce dz like j.

¡®meat¡¯

¡®javelin¡¯

¡®two¡¯

¡®grandfather¡¯

¡®it¡¯s tiny¡¯

¡®it¡¯s windy¡¯

¡®daytime¡¯

¡®person¡¯

¡®maple¡¯

¡®this¡¯

¡®six¡¯

¡®near¡¯

¡®seven¡¯

¡®it¡¯s cold¡¯

¡®four¡¯

¡®I saw her¡¯

¡®three¡¯

¡®your name is¡¯

¡®nine¡¯

¡®father¡¯

¡®no¡¯

¡®she said it¡¯

¡®shoe¡¯

¡®it will pass¡¯

English ¨C Seneca Dictionary

-Aable, possible. For example: ogwe:ny?:h it's

possible. agegwe:ny?:h I'm able (to do

something). o¡¯gegwe:ni¡¯ I was able.

o¡¯gagwe:ni¡¯ it was able. niyagwagw¨¦ny?sgwa¡¯ how much we used to be able.

(*-kweni-) See beat (in a contest).

abortion. sgay¨¢g??h. Literally it's been taken

back out. (*-yak?h-) Also

hse:h

she's had an abortion. Literally he's taken it

out for her. (*-yak?hs(e)-)

about, approximately. g?:?je¡¯,

,

. (*-ih?-)

above

one's

head.

For

example:

:dih above people's heads.

:dih

above

our

heads.

(*-n?¡¯arati-)

above

the

plants.

:ya:t.

(*-¡¯ehohtak?hyat-)

above, over, up. he¡¯tg?h.

absolutely! do:

:wa:h! (tok?hskowa:h)

abundant, be. od¨¢h?:d?¡¯ or

:d?¡¯ there's a

lot of it. niy¨®dah?:d?¡¯ or niy¨®d?h?:d?¡¯

what a lot of it there is. (*-ataCh?t?-)

abundant, be; live, dwell. For example:

?gan?ge:k it will continue to be living.

?yen?ge:k one will be living. De¡¯gan?ge¡¯

(woman¡¯s name). Literally it's not abundant,

it¡¯s rare. (*-nakr(e)-)

abuse (noun).

. (*-n?hk?tahshr-)

abuse (verb). For example: shag¨®n?hg?:ta¡¯ he

abuses her.

:

he abused

her. (*-n?hk?t-) See also mistreat, abuse.

(*-nokare¡¯-)

abuse

oneself.

For

example:

d¨¢¨¦snyad¨¢da¡¯g¨¦:oy?n you (du) might abuse

yourselves. Literally slam yourselves with

ashes. (*-atata¡¯k?hraoy?ht-)

abut. deyodi:g?h it abuts it. (*-atrik-)

accident, have an. For example: ?g¨¢di:waje:?¡¯

I had an accident. w¨¢¨®di:waje:?¡¯ he had an

accident. ?yagod¨ª:waje:?¡¯ people will have

accidents. o¡¯w¨¢di:waje?¡¯ it caused an

accident. t?:sad¨ª:waje:?h you will not have

an accident. (*-atrihwatyer?-)

accident. aj¨¦?sh?¡¯. (*-atyer?shr-) Also:

ad¨ª:waj¨¦?sh?¡¯. (*-atrihwatyer?shr-)

4

accomplish, (with patient prefix) gather,

assemble. For example: agy¨¦isd?h I've

accomplished it. hoy¨¦isd?h he has

accomplished it. ?gye:is I will accomplish it.

wa:ye:is he accomplished it. waodiye:is

they gathered, assembled. j?gway¨¦¨ªsta¡¯ we

gathered, assembled there. (*-yerihst-)

accountant, census taker. hashe:das. Literally

he counts. y?she:das. Literally she counts.

(*-ashet-)

acorn, red oak (Quercus velutina, Quercus

borealis). ogo:w?¡¯. (*-kor-)

acquire, collect. For example: agy?:gw?h I've

collected it. ho:?gw?h he¡¯s collected it.

go:?gw?h she¡¯s collected it. hodi?gw?h

they¡¯ve collected it. gy?:gwas I collect it.

h??gwas he collects it. ye?gwas she collects

it. hadi?gwas they collect it. o¡¯gy?:go¡¯ I

collected it. wa??:go¡¯ he collected it.

wa¡¯e?go¡¯ she collected it. wa:di:?go¡¯ they

collected it. (*-r?ko-)

acrobat, clown. haj¨¢n?¡¯ta¡¯. Literally he does

tricks. (*-atyana¡¯t-)

act correctly, do the right thing, be careful.

For example: ?gwaj?:n?:ni:h we're acting

correctly, are careful. wa¡¯?j?:n?:ni¡¯ she did

the right thing, was careful. wa?n?j?:n?:ni¡¯

they did the right thing. wa¡¯agwaj?:n?:ni¡¯

we did the right thing. ?dwaj?:n?:ni¡¯ we

will do the right thing. ?swaj?:n?:ni¡¯ you

will do the right thing. ?:n?j?:n?:ni¡¯ they

will do the right thing. saj?:n?:nih! act

correctly! ??j?:n?:ni¡¯ he'll do the right

thing. ?j¨ªsnyaj?:n?:ni¡¯ you two will do it

correctly again. (*-aty?r?n?ni-)

act stubbornly, obstinately. For example:

w¨¢:d?¡¯gw?:y?:¡¯ he acted stubbornly.

o¡¯w¨¢d?¡¯gw?:y?:¡¯ it acted stubbornly.

(*-at?¡¯kwaray?-)

act unexpectedly. For example: hoj¨¦?sg?:h he

is acting unexpectedly. (*-ater?hsk-)

add

another

thing.

For

example:

d?d¨¤:hn¨®¡¯ne:d?¡¯ he put one coat on over

another, said it over again. (*-atna¡¯net-)

add one thing over another. For example:

o:

:t it has one thing added over

another, goes in steps or series. sho:

:t

the one who's next in line, subchief,

vice-president. dey¨®:n?¡¯ne:t two story

house. do:gwah niy¨®:n?¡¯ne:t multi-story

English ¨C Seneca Dictionary

house. deg¨¢:n?¡¯ne:t it's lined (clothing).

:d?¡¯ you will double it over.

(*-hna¡¯net-)

add something. For example: ag¨¢w?hda:d?h

I've added something to it. (*-aw?htat-)

add to skins. o¡¯?¨®hsa¡¯ne:t added to skins.

(*-¡¯syohsa¡¯net-)

add to what was said. For example:

?g¨ª:wa¡¯h?:d?¡¯ I'll add to what was said.

?hs¨ª:wa¡¯h?:d?¡¯` you will add to what was

said. h?:n¨¬:w¨¢¡¯h?d?¡¯ they two will take up

the matter. (*-rihwa¡¯h?t-)

add up to (with ordinal numerals). wad?:ta¡¯ it

adds up to. (*-at?t-)

added, be. o¡¯h?:n it's added. (*-¡¯h?t-)

added. ?t?es. Sga:t wash?:h ?t?es. One added

to ten. (*?tshehs)

addition (to a house). heyo:sg?:n. Literally

attached shed. (*-ask?t-)

address words to someone. For example:

h??w?dw?n?g¨¢hd?¡¯ they will address

words to him. ?gwadw?n?g¨¢hd?¡¯ we will

address words to you. (*-atw?nakaht-)

address words. For example: ?gw?n?g¨¢hd?¡¯ I

will address words. (*-w?nakaht-)

adhere to a tradition. For example:

heg¨ª:

:twas I adhere to the tradition.

(*-rihwatih?tho-)

Adirondack tribe. Hadi?da:s. Literally they

eat trees. (*-r?tak-)

Ad?:w?¡¯, accompany someone's. For example:

:nih he accompanies my

Ad?:w?¡¯. (*-at?hish?htani/?-)

Ad?:w?¡¯,

accompany.

For

example:

he has accompanied Ad?:w?¡¯

(by

chanting

he¡¯

he¡¯

he¡¯

..).

you will accompany me

in Ad?:w?¡¯. ?:

they will

accompany Ad?:w?¡¯. (*-at?hish?ht-)

Ad?:w?¡¯. Ad?:w?¡¯ (personal chant).

adopt a child. For example: ag¨¦ksa¡¯d??gw?h

I've adopted a child. h?w

they've adopted him. o¡¯g¨¦ksa¡¯d??go¡¯ I

adopted a child. (*-ksa¡¯tar?ko-)

adopt a person. For example:

I adopted someone. (*-?kwe¡¯tar?ko-)

adopt. For example: hey¨¢sd¨¦¨ªsd?h I've adopted

him. ¨¦:yasde:is I'll adopt him. (*-asterihst-)

adult, become. See grow up, become an adult,

grow to maturity.

5

affair come to the end. hey¨®dio¡¯k it¡¯s the end

of the affair. (*-atriho¡¯kt-)

affair go to a certain point. ha¡¯dey¨®¨ªwakd¨¢¡¯?h

it¡¯s all the affair there is. (*-rihwakta¡¯-)

affect badly, kill. For example: agajo:?¡¯ I've

killed it. o¡¯gajo:?¡¯ I killed it. eon?jo:?¡¯ it

will affect them badly. (*-atyor?-)

affect strongly. For example: w¨¢¨®de¡¯h¨¢sd?¡¯s it

affected him strongly. (*-ate¡¯hast?ni/¡¯s-)

affect unexpectedly. For example: agaj¨¦

it

has

affected

me

unexpectedly.

(*-atyer?hst-)

affected by something, be. See use a way to

go. (*-ehtahkw-)

affection for, have; be kind to; sympathize

with; pity. For example: h?gi:d?:s they are

kind to me. sh?gw?:d?:s he is kind to us.

agid?:?h it has been kind to me. god?:?h it

has been kind to her. o¡¯ke:d?:¡¯ I pitied her.

hagi:d?:s he's good to me. h?w?:d?:s she's

kind to him. shago:d?:s he's kind to her.

?sa:d?:s she loves you. g?d?:s I feel

affection for you. wa:gi:d?:¡¯ he had pity on

me. ?sgw?d?se:k you will continue to be

kind to us. ¨¢:sgw?d?:se:k you should be

kind to us. ?gi:d?:s she is good to me.

ke:d?:s I am good to her or them.

?gi:d?:sgwa¡¯ she was good to me.

niy?gid :sgwa¡¯ how she used to be good to

me.

:hse:k you will continue to be

kind to us. ¨¢:

:hse:k you should be

kind to us. dasgi:d?:h! have pity on me!

¨¢:sgi:d?:¡¯ you should have pity on me.

ha¡¯d¨¦ked?:je¡¯ they are showing sympathy.

(*-it?r-)

afraid of, be. For example: gesh¨¢:nis I'm afraid

of it. hash¨¢:nis he's afraid of it. yesh¨¢:nis

she's afraid of it. had¨ªsha:nis they're afraid

of it. wad¨ªsha:nis they (fem) are afraid of it.

(*-shahni-)

afraid of, become. For example: ag¨¦sha:n¨ª¡¯?h

I've become afraid of it. hosh¨¢:ni¡¯?h he's

become afraid of it. gosh¨¢:ni¡¯?h she¡¯s

become afraid of it. (*-shahni¡¯-)

African American. H¨¢

African American.

Had¨ª?¡¯ji¡¯ African Americans. (*-h?¡¯tsi-)

after a while, eventually.

:¡¯?h after a

while, eventually. (*tha¡¯kar?¡¯?h)

after midnight. o¡¯w¨¢hs?d¨¢dia¡¯t. Literally the

night becomes unequal. (*-ahs?tatiha¡¯-)

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