nichiiwad
The Ojibwe word for storm is nichiiwad.
nichiiwad is used to refer to a disturbed state of the atmosphere that causes destructive or unpleasant weather.
Meaning: disturbed state of the atmosphere causing destructive or unpleasant weather (noun)
Did you know?
- In Anishinaabe oral traditions, the phenomena of a nichiiwad are attributed to the Thunderbird, whose wing flaps create thunder and whose blinking eyes create lightning.
- Due to its polysynthetic nature, the word for 'storm' can be expanded into a single long word that specifies exactly what the weather is doing, such as 'it is blowing the trees'.
- In Ojibwe, weather phenomena like a nichiiwad are often treated as animate entities, meaning the storm is grammatically treated as a 'living' being rather than a lifeless event.
Example conversation
Two people are looking at the darkening sky.
- NibiMigizi, nichiiwad gaa izhi-giizhig.Migizi, there is a storm in the sky.
- MigiziEya, gaa mazinaa.Yes, it is approaching.
- NibiGichi-nichiiwad gaa izhi-giizhig.It looks like a big storm.
- MigiziGii-izhaawad aanokiig.Let's go inside the houses.
