Cheyenne Dictionary

 death

death

-áhana'ó'h   vta. kill by running over s.o. É-áhana'o'ho. He killed him by running over him. Category: death.

-áhana'ov   vta. smother s.o.; kill s.o. by falling on; lie on s.o. to death; wear out s.o. can refer to wearing out an article of clothing (animate). É-áhana'ovóho. He killed him by falling (or lying) on him / He rode him (for example, a horse) to death. É-áhana'ōō'e. He (obv) killed him by falling on him, For example, the horse killed its rider when it bucked him off and fell on him. See: -áhaneoha'ov. Category: death.

-áhanȧsómeotse   vai. dysentery - have, die from defecating. for example, to die from dehydration. É-áhanȧsómeotse. He died from defecating. fai: -ȧsóme. Category: sickness, death.

-áhaneoestoh(n)   vta. knock dead s.o.swat s.o., beat s.o. to death, kill rapidly s.o. by tool (or on body), knock out s.o., knock s.o. dead. É-áhaneoestȯhnóho. He knocked him dead. Áhaneoestȯheha! Swat him! (for example, a fly).

knocked dead from sleep. Tā'se éxae'áhaneoestohe. Like he was knocked dead (from sleeping too long). See: -oest; -na'h. Category: violence, death, figurative.

-áhaneoešé   vai. dead.lie. É-'áhaneoešenasėstse. She lay dead. [Lover's Leap.022] Category: death, lie.

-áhaneoeve   vai. die of scabies. É-áhaneoeve. He died of scabies. See: -oéve. Category: sickness, death.

-áhanónoo'e   vai. wait to death. Lit: fatally-sit É-áhanónoo'e. He waited to death. fai: -ónoo'e. Category: death, figurative.

-áhanose   vai. freeze to death. É-áhanose. He froze to death. fai: -ose. See: -tonahe; -ná'tose. Category: death, temperature.

áhto'hohestȯtse   ni. grave. Lit: bury-NOM Category: death.

-áhto'hoh(n)   vta. bury s.o. É-áhto'hohnóho. He buried him. É-áhto'hohe. He (or It) is buried. Tósa'e é-áhto'hoheo'o? Where are they buried? vti: -áhto'hohá. Category: death.

áhto'honéve'ho'e   na. funeral director. Lit: bury-whiteman Category: jobs, death.

-aseohtsé   vai. 1 • leave. É-aseōhtse. He's leaving. [1987:240]

2 • die. literal leaving or can be said when a deceased's body is put in a grave. Nééšepėhéve-aseōhtse. You have left in a good way. [1987:240] See: -hováneehe. Category: death.

-ávanóoné   vai. 1 • take down tent. É-ávanóóne. He took his tent down. É-ávanóonéstove there is taking down of tent poles. Category: tepee.

2 • die. Category: figurative. See: -vévȯheotse; -ó'ená'o'tsé. Category: death.

-éseénan   vti. put s.t. into. É-éseénána. He put it in.

vta. put s.o. in. É-éseénanóho. He put him (obv) in. Éohkeméhaa'-éseénanȧhtseo'o šéenēva. They used to be buried in sandrock caves. É-éseénane vé'hoéstóva. He is laid in a coffin. See: -énan. Category: death.

-évaonóom   vta. call back s.o. especially from period of mourning. the "call-back" is an important community function, recognizing the mourning that the person has gone through, and inviting him back into the "normal" flow of social life. É-évaonóomeo'o. They (mourners) are called back. See: -onóom. Category: death.

-évešé   vai. lie (there), lie dead. É-évéše. He is lying there. for example, of an animal or person lying dead somewhere. Category: lie, death, check.

-évo'koná'ó   vai. bones piled up. for example, someone's bones piled on a funeral bier. É-évo'koná'o. His bones are piled up on a bier. See: -hotóa'koná'ó; -néveóhtáóó'e. Category: death.

-hao'omósešé   vai. 1 • calm down falling. for example, when a child calms down after falling down after he has been running around the house so much. É-hao'omóséše. He learned his lesson falling. See: -hestovootsé'seh; -máxeó'otse. Category: lie.

2 • die. Ééšė-hao'omóséše. He is already lying calmly. that is, he has died. See: -hovánee'e. Category: death, figurative.

-heáhto'hohéstove   vai. grave - have a. Lit: have a grave Hénėhéóhe móssó'-heáhto'hohéstovėhevóhe. There they (soldiers) still have their burial place. [The Birney Battle.030] See: áhto'hohestȯtse grave. Category: death.

heséotamo   na. his departed spirit. Possessive -séotame. Category: death.

-hésto'omenehe   vai. suffer from ?? É-hésto'omenehe. He suffered (on account of). ?? Category: check. Étavé'šė-hésto'omenėhénóvo. They are killed from (liquor). [1987:61] See: -háo'omenehe. Category: death.

-hévóe'ó   vai. bleed to death. É-hévóé'o.?? He bled to death.?? See: -hé'óé'ó. Category: sickness, death, check.

-hóenaa'e   vai. born dead, come out dead, stillborn - be. É-hóenaa'e mé'ėševȯtse. The baby was born (came out) dead. vai: nae; Preverb hóe-. Category: death, babies.

-ho'óhta'hané   vai. arrive at a point in storytelling. Ná-ho'óhta'hāne. I have arrived at that point in the storytelling. Tȧ-ho'óhta'haneo'o tséhešemȧhepėhévomóhtȧhéto! Arrive over there to tell that I'm feeling all good! ?? This is sometimes said to a person who is dying, instructing them to tell this to relatives in the next camp. Category: speak, death.

-hóó'óhtse   vai. 1 • go home. Cheyennes sometimes use this verb when they are nearing death. É-hóó'óhtse. He went home. Náamė-hóó'óhtse. I'm going home. Nétȧ-hóo'ȯhtsémáne! Let's go home! Néx-hóó'óhtsėstse! Come home! Ques: is that a natural command?? Náévaamė-hóó'óhtse. I'm returning home.

2 • called back. Éme'évȧ-hóo'ȯhtseo'o. They should come back home. This can especially refer to the relatives of the deceased, who are being called back into society, typically one year after the death of their loved one.) vti: -hóo'otsestsé; Preverb hóose-. See: -hóo'oohe. Category: death, check.

-hóo'ȯhtsétanó   vai. 1 • want to go home. Ná-hóo'ȯhtsétáno. I want to go home.

2 • want to go to the afterlife. that is, be ready to die, perhaps not suffer from illness any longer in old age. Category: death.

-hoónȯhtá'ha   vii. breeze - lonesome, wind - lonesome, lonesome wind. especially of a soft puff of wind, when a member of a family passes away; this wind cries with the family; it comes when people start crying. É-hoónȯhtá'ha. It's a lonesome wind. Category: wind, death.

-hótsená   vai. did not die ?? somehow, perhaps from an unexpected recovery or a miracle. É-hótséna. ?? He didn't die. (another recording) ?? Étaomė-hótséna. He almost died. Variant: -hótsenaa'e. See: -naeotse. Category: death, check.

-hótsenaa'e   vai. did not die. somehow, perhaps from an unexpected recovery or a miracle. É-hótsenaa'e He didn't die. Variant: -hótsená. Phon: vs See: -naeotse. Category: death.

-hováneehéotse   vai. 1 • disappear quickly, gone quickly. É-hováneehéotse. He disappeared quickly. See: -hovánee'e gone - be.

2 • dead - become, die. Usage: euphemism Étavé'šė-hováneehéotsénóvo. They die from (liquor). [1987:61] Phon: apocope; vs See: -naeotse die quickly; -ta'eoesta'xe go out of sight quickly. Category: death.

hováneehestȯtse   ni. death. (another recording) Lit: being gone Usage: This is a euphemism for death. See: naestȯtse. Category: death.

-hovánee'e   vai. 1 • be gone. É-hovánee'e. He is gone. (another recording) É-hováneehehe? Is he gone? Ésáa-hováneehéhe. He is not gone. É-hováneeheo'o. They are gone. "Naa é-hovánee'e hē'e," náhéto. "But there is no woman," I told him. [1987:179] Taeó'xe ééšė-hovánee'e. The moon is half gone. Phon: apocope; vs See: -hováneehéotse.

2 • die. Category: figurative. very commonly used as a euphemism for 'to die'; because of this, the negative of -hotoa'e 'to be (there/here)' is often preferred when the meaning is that someone is gone from a place, for example, ésáahoéhe 'he's not there', náto'sėsáahoéhe 'I'm going to be gone' (in preference to náto'sėhovánee'e, which many speakers will initially understand to mean 'I'm going to be dead'). É-hovánee'e. He's gone/he died. É-hováneeheo'o. They died. Ééšė-hovánee'e. He's already gone. É'éšė-hovánee'e. He was already gone (at that specified time, similar to English past perfect tense). x-hovánee'ėstse vo'ėstane when a person dies. Speakers vary between having ȯx-, x-, or no x at the beginning of that word. Taenea'háanéhe tséhetaneé-hovánee'ėstse! Now that is someone who died as a real man (hero)! [Head Chief and Other Instruction to Children.055] vii: hová'ȧháne. See: -nae. Category: death, figurative.

-hoxȯhem   vta. stench s.o., bring bad luck to s.o. This refers to what a crying, whimpering dog does to someone he cries at. It is believed that a dog who cries, pointing toward a house (especially its door), will bring bad luck on people who live in that house. The cultural cure is to kill the dog. That bad luck is transferred, then, from a person to the dog and it is removed with the dog's death. Phonetically, this stem sounds nearly identical to the stem -hoxom 'to feed someone,' but the "x" of this stem seems to have more turbulence with it, suggesting a complex syllable sequence, such as -xȯhe. Néto'sė-hoxȯhemaēvo. He is going to bring bad luck to you (plural). [er 4/14/98] Initial hox-. See: -hoxom; -hoxȯhevosé. Category: death, smell.

-hóxoveohtsé   vai. 1 • go across; across go. É-hóxoveōhtse. He went across.

2 • die. euphemism for going across to the next camp, that is, dying. Étaéšė-hóxoveōhtse. He has gone across. See: -hóxoveotse. Category: death, motion.

-hóxovéstavá   vai. 1 • travel, journey. É-hóxovéstáva. He is traveling. É-hóxovéstavao'o. They are traveling. Éamė-hóxovéstáva. He is traveling along. Éamė-hóxovéstavao'o. They are traveling along. See: -amóxovéstavá; -vé'otse. Category: transportation.

2 • die. Éasė-hóxovéstáva. He has started to travel (that is, to travel to the afterlife). See: -asėtóxovéstavá. Category: death, figurative.

-mȧheno'éoohe   vai. kill all quickly. É-mȧheno'éoohe. He killed all (of them) quickly. fai: -no'é. See: -má'seno'éoohe. Category: violence, death.

-má'seno'éoohe   vai. complete killing quickly, kill all quickly. É-má'seno'éoohe. He killed all (of them) quickly. fai: -no'é. See: -mȧheno'éoohe. Category: violence, death.

-mé'enaa'e   vai. 1 • 

1 • die in sight of. É-mé'enaa'e. He died in sight of (someone). See: -naa'e die.

2 • gorge, eat a lot at a feast. Náto'sėhé-me'enaéme. We're going to go to a feast. Phon: vs Category: death, eat.

-mé'to'kȧho'henaa'e   vai. die instead. É-mé'to'kȧho'henaa'e. He died instead. for example, Jesus died for sinners. Phon: vs See: -naa'e. Category: death.

-mótȯheotse   vai. be in sad shape, appear about to die, be in pitiful state, be depressed ?? Category: check. especially said of someone very sick just before dying. É-mótȯheotse. He is in sad shape. Etym: cf. *mat- 'bad'; mya:la:tesiwa he is ugly (Pe79.377). See: -mótahe; -mótȯhetsėhesta; -kȧhaneotse. Category: death.

-mótȯhe-tsėhesta   vai. sad shape - be in. especially near death. É-mótȯhetsėhesta. He is in sad shape. See: mótȯheotse. Category: death.

-naa'e   vai. die. É-naa'e He died. Ésáa-naéheo'o. They did not die. Ééše-naa'e. It is the last quarter (of the moon). Éše'he énaa'e. The sun has died (for example, when it's gotten cloudy). É-naéstove. There is dying. tsééše-naétsese those (obviative) who have already died. Phon: vs Euphemism -hováneehe, -hóxoveohtsé, -énėhohtsé, -ameohtsé. Etym: *nepwa. See: -naa'é. Category: figurative, death, sickness.

-naémané   vai. play possum, act dead, pretend to be dead, dead pretend. Évá'ne-naémáne. He's just playing possum. fai: -mané. Category: death.

-naéneméa'xe   vai. smell dead, dead smell. É-naéneméa'xe. He smells dead. Final -méa'xe. Category: smell, death.

naestȯtse   ni. death. Oblique naéstóva; Euphemism hováneehestȯtse; vai: -naa'e. See: Naévėháne. Category: death.

-naéstove   vii. death. É-naéstove. There is death/there is dying. vai: -naa'e. Category: death.

-naétanó   vai. be dying. refers to being in the dying process. É-naétáno. He's dying. fai: tanó. See: -naa'e. Category: death.

Naévėháne   Death (personified). See: naestȯtse. Category: death.

-naévo'emaov   vta. sentence s.o. to die. É-naévo'emaovóho. He sentenced him to death. Né-naévo'emáovȧtse I sentence you to death. See: -ho'emaov; -too'ėhévo'emaov. Category: legal, death.

-naévomotah   vta. die for s.o. in substitute for. É-naévomotȧhóho. He died for him. tséh-naévomotȧhaétse hótȯxáse'hohéstóva when he died for us on the cross. [1987:116] Singular sub. See: -naa'e die. Category: death.

-nȧho'ȯhtsév   vta. 1 • visit s.o. É-nȧho'ȯhtsevo. He visited him. É-nȧho'ȯhtsévóho (newer pronunciation) He visited him. Ná-nȧho'ȯhtsēvo. I visited him. Ného'-nȧho'ȯhtsevȧtse. I have come to visit you. Hó'ótóva néh-nȧho'ȯhtséveo'o! Come visit me sometime! See: -ho'ėhót; -ho'ohtsé. Category: interpersonal.

2 • die. Ééva-nȧho'ȯhtsévóho hevóohestoto. He has gone back to visit his relatives (that is, when he has died). Ma'tanaéto namȧhta'sóoma étao'se-nȧho'ȯhtsevo Ma'hēō'o. When I die my spirit is going to visit (stay with??) God. Category: death, figurative.

-nėhe'xóveotse   vii. tired; have enough. Náéše-nėhe'xóveotse. I'm tired. Lit: It is enough for me.

3 • vai. die. This can be a euphemism for dying. Ééše-nėhe'xóveotse. He has died. Lit: It is enough for him. especially about when someone has died. Lit: the time is already for me ?? Category: time, death, figurative.

-nėhpotómeoestȧho'he   vai. suffocate in fire. É-nėhpotómeoestȧho'he. He suffocated in a fire. [PD986] fai: -aho'he. Category: fire, death.

nėšéšé'e   na. mourning woman. Tā'se nėšéše'eo'o. (They look) like mourning women. That was said when, due to white influence, people first starting cutting girls' hair. Category: death, hair.

-nėšéšenoné   vai. sing for the dead, grieve sing. É-nėšéšenōne. He sang for the deceased; mourned in song. Initial nėšéš(e)-; fai: -noné. Category: death, sing.

-nėšéševe   vai. mourn, grieve, sorrow, wail. É-nėšéševe. He is in mourning. traditionally with hair cut off. No'keāā'e é-nėšéševeo'o. They are mourning for a year. A year is the traditional length of time for mourning. É-nėšéševo hestséta'e. Her gland is mourning (that is, it is swollen). The "call-back" for the end of mourning is referred to with the stem -évaonóom (pv. éva- 'back' + -onóom 'call/invite'). Usage: obsolescing See: -pó'ona'e. Category: hair, death.

névéé'ėše   p. four days. Névéé'ėše náévȧho'eōhtse. I returned four days ago. Éma'xėhoo'kōho névéé'ėše. It's been really raining for four days now. Névéé'ėše móh-néma'eméohehevóhe. For four days they ran around. [1987:245] Névéé'ėše éévoésenaho hemȧhta'sóomaho. He spirit is hanging around for four days. This is the amount of time that the spirit of a deceased hangs around after a Cheyenne death. Category: time, death.

néveóhtaoestȯtse   ni. burial scaffold, bier. Lit: four-legged-standing-thing See: -evo'kona'o ??. Category: death.

-néveóhtáóó'e   vai. burial scaffold be on, stand on four legs. Phon: vs this was a traditional place to lay the body of a deceased person. É-néveóhtáóó'e. He is on the scaffold. [1987:266] fai: -óé2. Category: death, stand.

-nóto'xevá   vai. warn, sound alarm, announce the enemy. É-nóto'xēva. He sounded the alarm (of arrival of enemies). [pd783] É-nóto'xeváhtove. Arrival of enemy is being announced. Owls do this, landing on a house and foretelling a death of someone who lives in it. vé'kėséhe-mėstaeo'o ... éohke-nóto'xevao'o vo'ėstane to'sėhováneehesėstse ... éohkėhevoone "Owls warn when a person is going to die," they say. (1980:41:7). See: -hóo'xevá; -néto'xevá. Category: death, speak.

-pó'ona'e   vai. be in mourning. É-pó'ona'e. He is in mourning. See: -nėšéševe; -pó'keotse. Category: death.

séáne   ni. Happy Hunting Grounds, place of the dead. Variant: séáno. See: seo'ȯtse; he'amo'omēē'e. Etym: PA *ciipe:na:nki 'in the land of the dead' (Go2000:91). Category: death.

Séaneméó'o   ni. Milky Way ?? Usage: not widely known Perhaps this is the road that the deceased travel to get to Seano. See: méó'o; séáno. Category: death, check.

séáno   ni. Happy Hunting Grounds, place of the dead. Happy Hunting Grounds is an English term popularized in literature for the place of the afterlife, according to the cosmology of a number of Native American tribes, including Cheyennes. Variant: séáne. See: seo'ȯtse; he'amo'omēē'e. Etym: PA *ciipe:na:nki in the land of the dead (Go2000:91). Category: death.

séo'ȯtse   na. spirit of a dead person, ghost. This word refers to the spirit which leaves the body of a dead person. This word is not used for the corpse of a dead person lying in a casket. Instead, one would simply refer to that corpse by the name that person had while alive. Before a person dies, its immaterial part is called a mȧhta'sóoma. Phon: vs Ques: Could it be that a certain interval of time, during which the disembodied spirit can be around to bother people, must elapse before one would refer to the dead body as a seo'ȯtse? How long is this time interval? 4 days? ?? Category: check. Plural séoto; Obviative séoto; Preverb séotsé-. Etym: *ci:paya 'corpse; *ciipayaki. See: méstaa'e; mȧhta'sóoma; voxȯtse. Category: death.

-séotame   na. Gram: poss departed spirit (poss.) This is the spirit of a deceased person. he-séotamo his departed spirit. IndepNoun séo'ȯtse. Category: death.

Séoto tséhpėhévoma'enévȯse   vai. Memorial Day. Usage: od See: Pėhévoma'enenéstóva; Tséhpėhevoma'enenéstove; Pėhévoma'enenéeše. Category: death, holidays.

séotsé-   pv. spirit. ni: séot. Category: death.

séotséamȧho'hestȯtse   ni. hearse. Lit: spirit-car Variant: séotséameohestȯtse. Category: death.

séotséameohestȯtse   ni. hearse. Variant: séotséamȧho'hestȯtse. Category: death.

séotsémȧhéó'o   ni. funeral parlor, mortuary. Lit: corpse-house Category: death, new.

séotsé-mȧhtsēhȯtse   ni. deceased's belongings. These are traditionally burned. See: -htsēhȯtse. Category: death.

séotséméó'o   ni. the road of the dead, ghost road, Milky Way. Lit: corpse-road the road which dead people travel to séáno ?? Category: check. Some people say this for the Milky Way. Variant: he'ameméó'o. See: séáno. Category: death.

séotsémeta'ėško   na. skull. for example, of a dead person. Lit: departed spirit-skull for example, a skull lying in a field. Plural séotsémeta'ėškonȯtse. See: méta'eško. Category: body, death.

-séotseve   vai. be a spirit of a dead person. É-séotseve. He is a spirit of the deceased. Ésáa'éšė-séotsévéhe. He is not yet a spirit of the deceased. Category: death.

-séotsévetanó   vai. want to be a spirit in the afterlife. Some people are like this: they want to die. É-séotsévétáno. He wants to (die and) be a spirit. Category: death.

-séva'én   vta. unbraid hair of s.o. especially of someone mourning. É-séva'eno. He unbraided his/her hair. Éstano'-séva'énȧhtséhoo'o. She also let down (unbraided) her (own) hair (in mourning). [1987:266] Antonym -hesto'tonoh(n). Category: death, hair.

-taomėhótsená   vai. almost die. É-taomėhótséna. He almost died. See: -hótsenaa'e; -naeotse. Category: death.

-taomėhótsenaa'e   vai. almost die. É-taomėhótsenaa'e. He almost died. See: -taomėhótsená; -naeotse; -taome; -hótse. Category: death.

-tó'hoešé   vai. death - be near, lie near death, lie hanging on, lie in bed faint from bleeding or bad sickness. É-tó'hóéše. He won't get up he is so sick. See: -he'keše. Category: lie, death, sickness.

-tó'omenot   vta. kill s.o. Nonóma'e é-tó'omenotāā'e. He was killed by lightning. Final -not. Category: death.

tséhmámȯheveáhto'hohévȯse ka'ėškóneho vóxéva   Gram: cjt vai. boarding school cemetery. Lit: where the children are buried together See: mámȯheve-; áhto'hohn. Category: school, death.

Tséhpėhévoma'enenéstove   vii. Memorial Day. Lit: when the ground is groomed See: séoto tséhpėhévoma'enévȯse; Pėhévoma'enenéeše; -pėhévoma'enené. Category: death.

tsé'ȯhke-áhto'hohéstove   vii. Gram: ppl cemetery. Lit: where there is burying Category: death.

tsé-nėšéševese   vai. mourners. Lit: those who are mourning these are recognized by having their hair cut as a sign of mourning. Category: death.

tséohke-ameotsėstsese tsévé'hoesȯtse   Gram: cjt na. pallbearers. Ques: recheck?? Category: death, check.

vé'hoestȯtse   ni. casket, coffin. Plural vé'hoéstotȯtse; Oblique vé'hoéstóva. Category: death.

-vóonoé'tá   vti. awake all night with respect to s.t. especially with a corpse at a wake. É-vóonoé'ta. He was up all night with respect to it (for example, with a mavoxȯtse 'corpse' at a wake). É-vóonoé'tánóvo. They were up all night with it. Category: death.

-vóonoo'e   vai. be (there) all night, sit all night, be at a wake. É-vóonoo'e. He was there all night. É-vóonoeo'o. They had a wake. Phon: vs vta: vóonoé't. See: hoe; vóoneóé. Category: sit, death.

-vovóešem   vta. console s.o.comfort s.o.soothe s.o. You are gentle to them. A person would be comforted for a year after a death in the family. A woman in mourning would wear her hair unbraided. A man in mourning would cut his hair short. É-vovóešemóho. He comforted him. He consoled him (obv). Variant: -vovéešem. See: nėšéševe. Category: death.