# -NIIʼ
## Navajo
### Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *ni̓gʸ, from pre-Proto-Athabaskan *niʼg, a root with many disparate meanings, perhaps resulting in the merger of originally distinct roots.
A first meaning involves action with the hand (squeeze, touch). Another meaning relates to the passing of an invisible or hazy entity, as an epidemic, a cold wave, a fad, a swarm, and also relates to pain, ache. A last meaning relates to mental actions as to know, to be aware, to remember.
-NIIʼ shares many stems with the roots -NÍÍʼ, -NIID, -NÍÍD, -NIʼ, -NÍ, -NIH, -NIIH ~ -LĮH and -NEʼ, each of these being themselves a conflation of several originally distinct roots with at times overlapping meanings, which makes their actual identification often speculative.
Maybe as a consequence, the themes in this root often do not behave as neatly as with other roots (classifiers, aspect, conjugations may follow irregular alternations).

### Root

-NIIʼ
1. to act with the hand
| Theme | Category | Bases | Transitive bases (O + ł) |
| ∅ | successive | S squeezes O, mixes O yiʼniinííh (MOM) ↳ iʼniinííh yitaayiniih (DIST) neiniih (CONT) néininih (SER) yiyiinih (SEM) | |
| a + ł | motion? | S heads O off, set O free yiʼíłniih (MOM) yééʼíłniih | |
| di + l | motion | S touches, reaches dilnííh (∅-MOM) adilnííh didiilnííh didinilnííh (“stuck”) dinilnííh (“stuck”) yadidiilnííh yideelnííh (ni-MOM) chʼídeelnííh ndeelnííh ndilniih (CONT) doolnih (PROG) ↳ hodoonih (∅-class.) déesniiʼ (NEUT) | |
| hi + ∅ | ? | S is traded hidinííh (MOM) nahaniih (CONT) | S trades O yidiyiiłnííh (MOM) nayiiłniih (CONT) |
2. to hurt, to be painful
| Theme | Category | Bases | Transitive bases (O + ł) |
| di + ∅ | ? | S becomes painful dinííh (MOM) ↳ adinííh ↳ hodinííh ndeezniiʼ (CONT) | S makes O painful yidiłnííh (MOM) ↳ hodiłnííh |
| di + ∅ | adjectival | S hurts diniih (ni-NEUT) ↳ adiniih ↳ hodiniih hadiiniiʼ | S makes O hurt yidiłniih (ni-NEUT) ↳ hodiłniih |
3. a wave passes or spreads (epidemic, a heat wave, a crowd, a swarm, a fad)
| Theme | Category | Bases | Transitive bases (O + ł) |
| ł | motion | S passes iiłnííh diłnííh hałnííh ńʼdiiłnííh (“start”) tádíłnííh yíłnííh (ni-MOM) niiłnííh naałniih (CONT) ↳ nahałnííh yiłnih (PROG) | |
4. to know, to be aware
| Theme | Category | Bases | Transitive bases (O + ł) |
| ∅ | ? | S knows aniih (NEUT) haniih yeʼeniih | S makes O know — — yiʼíłnííh |
| ná + l | ? | S remembers yénálniih (DUR) bééhániih (∅-class) | S reminds O yééyíłnííh (ni-MOM) |
| ∅ | ? | S hears, learns nihwiinííh (TRANS) yiniih (DUR) haniih | |

#### Stem set

| Aspect | IMP | PERF | FUT | ITER | OPT |
| MOM | -nííh | -niiʼ | -nih | -nih | -nííh |
| CONT / DUR | -niih | -niiʼ | -nih | -nih | -niih |
| REP / SER | -nih | -niiʼ | -nih | -nih | -nih |
| SEM | -nih | -nih | -nih | -nih | -nih |
| NEUT | -niih | -niiʼ | — | — | — |
See also Appendix: Roots and stems derivation.

#### Synonyms

to act with body:
* -ʼĄ́ (head)
* -CHID (hand)
* -ʼEEZ (foot)
* -NEʼ (head)
* -TÁÁL (foot)
to hurt:
* -GAII
crowd or herd moves:
* -DÉÉL
* -NÁ
* -TEEL
* -YIZ (stampede)
* -YOL
* -ZĄ́
to know:
* -CHĄ́Ą́ʼ
* -ZĮĮD

#### Derived terms

Navajo terms belonging to the root -NIIʼ (act with hand)
Navajo terms belonging to the root -NIIʼ (hurt)
Navajo terms belonging to the root -NIIʼ (wave passes)
Navajo terms belonging to the root -NIIʼ (know)