Kinship Terms

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guł hi-steemilgwes 'My relations'

Coeur d’Alene Kin terms

steemilgwes rb 1 x	'relative' (lit. warm feelings in the heart) ~ steemilgwes km
snukwłtsetkhw	‘family (lit., one household)’
[guł] snshi’tsntsutn	‘ancestors’ (the first people)
sngwa’rus	‘descendents’
t'ik'ut rb	'elder, closely related older person; parent' ~ t'ik'ut ln
stsi'leł - [kin]	prefix for adopted kin, of any age

nune’ rb	‘mother’ ~ nune' km , nune' ln
chche’ye’, or cheye’rb	‘mother’s mother’ ~ chche'ye', cheye' km
sile’ rb	‘mother’s father’ ~ sile' km
‘e’iqhwe’, or ‘iqhwe’rb	‘mother’s younger sister’ ~ e'iqhwe' km
sisi’ km	‘mother’s ([older &] 2 younger) brother’ ~ sisi' km

pipe’ rb	‘father’ ~ pipe' km
qine’ rb	‘father’s mother’ ~ qine' ln, qine' km
qhipe’rb	‘father’s father’ ~ qhipe'ln, qhipe' km
tikwe’rb	‘father’s sister’
puse’ rb	‘father’s brother’3 y~ puse' km 99
ch' iwa' 4 22	'grandparent(s), after death 5 of parent(s)

snukwk'u'lu'l	'spouse' (i.e., married in the Church)
(also: snik'wk'u'l'l)
noqhnoqh la	'spouse; also: sweetheart (FA)' ~ noqhnoqh jm
nuqhnuqhnumt jh	'sweethearts (they want to be together)'
or noqhnoqhnumt mil 5b xx ~ noqhnoqhnumt jm, noqhnoqhnumt jh
s'laqhti'wes	'(they are) courting'
qhaqhemenchi'wes	'they like one another'
smi’yem rb	‘woman, wife’ ~ smi'yem jm, smi'yem jh
sqi’ltumkhw rb	‘man, husband' ~ sqi'ltumkhw jm
marareemi'wes	'(they are a) couple; marriage partners'
tsukwtsukwi'wes	'(they are) divorced; or "broke the rock" (the Church)

tstse'ye'i'wes	'(they are) sisters'
sentse'i'wes	'(they are) brothers'
shshi't rb	'girl's older sister or brother'
tstsi’ye’ rb	‘girl’s younger sister’
chi‘yukwe’rb	‘girl's younger brother’ ~ chi'yukwe' ln, chi'yukwe' km
‘yukwe’ rb	‘boy's older sister’ ~ 'yukwe' ln, 'yukwe' rb
sme’mulmkhw rb	‘boy’s younger sister’ 6 z~ sme'mulmkhw km 88
qitsch rb	‘boy’s older brother’ ~ qitsch ln, qitsch km
sintse’ rb	‘boy's younger brother’

sni'qwe'mut	'(they are) sisters married to brothers' 7 a
[w.s.] 8 deshchegwe’	‘husband’s brother; sister’s husband’ b
[m.s.] 9 si’stm ls	‘brother’s wife; wife’s sister’
sts’isht	‘wife’s brother; sister’s husband’

ststs’m i’lt rb	‘children’
tsi’w	‘youngest child’
stsi’wtmsh	‘youngster (any family member)’
tsigw	‘be youngest of adults’
gwaqhtelt	‘young person’
khukhwits'n	'adopted child' 10 c
gugwaqhti’lt rb	‘baby’ ~ gugwaqhti'lt km

shi’wtm rb	‘maiden’ (i.e., girl in her late teens)
stiych’mish	‘virgin, unmarried woman; also: Virgin Mary’
[n.b. (sl) st'iich'mish; cf. (DictII) sti'ychmish]
shshi’wt’m	‘daughter, little girl’
st’imche’ rb	‘(older) daughter’
st’t’i’mche’	‘6 or 7 year old daughter’ 11 d
sipn rb	‘daughter-in-law’

sqwasqwese’	‘male child’
asqw rb	‘son (of any age)’
a’asqw	‘2 to 3 year old son’
tt’wit rb	‘youth, young boy (i.e., not a relative)’
snich’łkhw rb	‘son-in-law (lit., divides the house)’
tunsh rb	‘sister’s (or brother’s) child’ [note: may be m.s.]

t’upye’ rb	‘great-grandparent, or great-grandchild’
narye’ km	‘great-great-grandparent’
s’leese’le’	‘unknown ancestors’ (when tracing one’s own family)
sch’e’ilup	‘last living relative’
tsentelut	'orphan'

woman speaking 12 e
deshchegwe’	‘husband’s brother; sister’s husband’
shshi't rb	'older sister or brother'
tstsi’ye’rb	‘younger sister’
chi‘yukwe’ rb	‘younger brother’ ~ chi'yukwe' ln, chi'yukwe' km
chche’ye’ rb	‘daughter’s son or daughter’~ chche'ye' km
qqine’	‘son’s son or daughter’

man speaking 13 f
nełtsich	‘mother-in-law’
nasqha’qh	‘father-in-law’
si’stm ls	‘brother’s wife; wife’s sister’
sts’isht	‘wife’s brother; sister’s husband’
‘yukwe’rb	‘older sister’ ~ 'yukwe' ln, 'yukwe' rb2
sme’mulmkhw rb	'younger sister’ ~ sme'mulmkhw km
qitsch rb	‘older brother’ ~ qitsch ln, qitsch km
sintse’ rb	‘younger brother’
[st’imche’rb	‘(older) daughter’] ~ st'imche' ls
[st’t’i’mche’	‘6 or 7 year old daughter’]
ssile’	‘daughter’s son or daughter’
qhqhipe’	‘son’s son or daughter’
tunsh rb	‘sister’s (or brother’s) child’

friends & neighbors
syats'aqhum	'(final) authority, counselor, mentor'
sts'uqhwi'lt	'charge, advisee, person receiving guidance'
schinteple'	'guardian; person of utmost dependency' 14 g
sk'u'lłnune'	'godmother'
sk'u'lłpipe'	'godfather'
sk'u'lłtimche'	'goddaughter'
sk'u'lłasqw	'godson'

s'laqht ln	'friend' ~ s'laqht km
stshshiple'	'most dependable, trustworthy friend'
snuk'wshenn jh	'co-worker'
sqhetsut	'companion, esp. for one purpose or temporary aid'
snukwngwa'yqn	'companion, someone you grew up with' 15 h
sni'gwa'yqn 16 i
snukw'ats'aqhl	'contemporary'
shshe'n'n	'a child's best buddy, little pal'
st'i'khwas'laqht	'former friend (by circumstance, not estranged)'

snukwschint jh	‘fellow-Tribesman, -Indian, or -human being’
snik’w’lmkhw rb	‘neighbor’ (implies relationship) ~ snik'w'lmkhw km
schłi'ut rb	'next-door neighbor; also: next of kin' 17 j
snuk'wndesn	'someone you camp with' (usu. your steemilgwes rb )
stch'ite'	'neighbor' (no relationship, just lives nearby)
suye' jh	'renter' (an old term, from suyepi)
t'ikhwlm km	'foreigner' (lit., a person of a different family) ~ t'ikhwlm jh
usni'qwe(w	'"black sheep" of the family'

revised 7.05

1.Any of these terms can be prefaced with t'i's , which would indicate 'past,' esp. a death separation (IL). back

2.Felix Aripa used this term to refer to Pete Silas, his mother’s older brother. back

3.According to the Nicodemus dictionary, this term and the one above it are used "if [the] father is living" (1975 (v.I):168, 259) back

4.Cf. Spokan ch'iwa', Flathead ch'ewa'. Felix recalls Sam Leo using this term to address Stanislas Aripa. back

5.When talking about or to kin, one uses the possessive: You would address your father, hnpipe' "my father," rather than merely, "father." When talking about a relative who has passed away, you would say, t'i'hnpipe' , 'my late father.' back

5b.Lawrence Nicodemus preferred to represent the reduplicated stem in this term this way, perhaps because he felt the vowels reduced to schwa with the stress on the last syllable. Felix Aripa and Irene Lowley, however, pronounced the term as Gladys Reichard has it in the Stem-list, noqhnoqh la. back

6.Margaret Stensgar used this term when referring to Ralph Skanen as Sarah Tonasket's brother. back

7. Felix heard this term used to refer to his parents (Stanislas and Mary) and their in-laws. Stanislas' brother Andrew was married to Mary's sister Felicity. back

8. Woman speaker back

9.Man speaker back

10.This applies especially to an orphan adopted by a person living alone, as a companion. It has much the sense of "precious" in English, and is sometimes translated as 'little companion.' (Irene Lowley) back

11. Felix thinks this term and the one preceding it were used by men only (i.e., they are m.s.). back

12. Or, when the point of reference is a woman back

13. Or, when the point of reference is a man back

14.The syats'aqhum would be considered the ultimate authority, someone a troubled person must listen to, most likely an elder relative; but it could be a well-known, respected member of the community. Those younger people the syats'aqhum would be responsible to mentor would be his or her sts'uqhwi'lt (FA). A schinteple' is someone counted on, or depended upon, for any number of reasons. This could be a relationship among adults, friends, co-workers, or a group towards one or more persons. It could also be a guardian to an orphan (FA & LN). back

15.These include family groups that were part of your childhood (IL). back

16.Form preferred by Felix Aripa back

17.This is the meaning that Felix Aripa associates with this term. That is, one lives with, or near, kin. In that regard, this term may be used in the same sense as steemilgwes, or 'relative.' back

A u d i o P r o n u n c i at i o n s :

ln•LN: Lawrence Nicodemus •MIL: Marie "Irene" Lowley
b •RB: Raymond Brinkman •KM: Kim Matheson•LA: Lovinia "Bins" Alexander
•JM: Jessica Matheson •JH: Jennifer Hale •LS: Laura Stensgar
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