Details
General
| Morphemic form: | N{-ruucaq}N |
| New orthography: | -ruusaq |
| Old orthography: | -rûssaĸ |
| Sources: | [17, 16, 19] |
| Combinations: | View list |
| Variants: | V{-ruucaq}V |
| Left sandhi: | Truncative |
| Right sandhi: | Default/none |
| Inflection sandhi: | Default/none |
| Stem type(s): | Weak q-stem |
Description and behaviour
Form and usage:
According to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [21], this affix derives from the same morpheme as N{-ucaq}N, namely {ŋuðaʀaʀ-}, although with a rather different meaning: According to Schultz-Lorentzen [16], the meaning of this affix is 'poor/bad N', used to signal modesty. However, this is presumably only in the case where the speaker is talking of his own possessions. When speaking of others, the meaning is just negative.
Inflection
Declension pattern:
| Stem type: | Weak q-stem |
| Declension type: | p-declined |
| Declension sandhi: | Default/none |
| Stem before consonant | Stem before vowel | Notable forms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New orthography | -rusa | -rusa | -rusaq, -rusap, -rusat, |
| Phonemic orthography | -ruca | -ruca | -rucaq, -rucap, -rucat, |
Notes on declension:
The inflection is not documented anywhere. Thus we assume it declines regularly like a weak q-stem with p-declension.
Meanings and examples
Used as a sign of modesty (if speaking of one's own possession).
- ajoqeruusaq, an insignificant catechist
[16]
From ajoqi, 'catechist'.
- palaseruusaq, a pathetic priest
[16]
From palasi, 'priest'.
- piniartoruusaq, a poor (bad) hunter
[16]
From piniartoq, 'hunter'.
- illeruusaq, thou fool
[19]
From illit, the 2sg pronoun, here treated as a noun stem.
- illoruusaq, a bad house
[19]
From illu, 'house'.
- qimmeruusaq, a pathetic dog
[19]
From qimmeq, 'dog'.
- qiperuusaq, a bad duvet
[19]
From qipik, 'duvet; blanket'.