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As a kid I must have seen dozens of B-grade westerns with a scene in which the cowboy and the Indian chief meet in a tent, the chief raises his arm, palm facing forward, and says "How!" This was the basic positive greeting, a way of saying "Wecome". I never gave it a thought until years later when I learned a little Chinese. The word hao is an everyday word used in greeting and has a general meaning of "good", "okay", positive stuff. My question: Are there or were there Native Americans who actually used that word and if so, does it go back to the land bridge?
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kra89kow Are there or were there Native Americans who actually used that word Good question, kra89kow. ) Native American greeting, Siouxan (Dakota hao, Omaha hau), first recorded 1817 in English. But according to OED, the same word was noted early 17c.
- kra89kow Are there or were there Native Americans who actually used that word Good question, kra89kow.
- ) Native American greeting, Siouxan (Dakota hao, Omaha hau), first recorded 1817 in English.
- But according to OED, the same word was noted early 17c.
- by French missionary Jean de Brebeuf among Hurons as an expression of approval (1636).
- kra89kow does it go back to the land bridge?
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kra89kowAre there or were there Native Americans who actually used that word
Good question, kra89kow. From the Online Etymological Dictionary:
how (interj.)
Native American greeting, Siouxan (Dakota hao, Omaha hau), first recorded 1817 in English. But according to OED, the same word was noted early 17c. by French missionary Jean de Brebe
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