Details

General

Description and behaviour

Form and usage:

The meaning of this stem is 'night'. If used as a time expression (in the absolutive case), it will normally denote the previous night, i.e. the night before the present day. For denoting the coming night, use the future time marker *{-gu}, i.e. unnuaru.

The stem is related to {unnuk}N, 'evening'. According to the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary [22], the reconstructed historical form is {unnu(C)aʀ}, from {unnuɣ} and {aʀ}, i.e. N{-aq}N. The parenthetical, unwritten consonant (C) is indicated in the present morphemic form as (j), since it may geminate during inflection and appear as [cc].

Inflection sandhi:

According to Christian Rasmussen's dictionary [15], this stem inflects with gemination of an unwritten consonant between /ua/. In the form recorded here, we indicate this unwritten consonant as (j).

Schultz-Lorentzen [8] also notes this inflection with gemination, but also remarks that it alternatively may inflect like an ordinary weak q-stem. Ordbogeeraq [18] does not list this stem as geminating, so the inflection with gemination is likely not used, or at least not common, nowadays. Here, we only record the declension with gemination, since the other declension is regular.

Inflection

Declension pattern:

Notes on declension:

This is the inflection with gemination.

Meanings and examples

Tags

• Thematic grouping / Time