owun

Older form for the term salt mostly found in Eastern Yoruba varieties. See Igala ómu, Ifè oŋu, proposed to be derived from Proto-Yoruboid *ó-ɓũ. The form likely referred to an indigenous salt, perhaps related to rock salt or halite, which was later replaced by salt imported from the North. The existence of this term in Ede Idaca suggests that it existed in Proto-Yoruba and not just Proto-Edekiri, and also may suggest that the Ede group of languages (including Ede Ife and Idaca) split before the Northwest and Central Yoruba dialects split.

• IPA^(key): /ō.wũ̄/

owun

1. salt

• wùn

From Proto-Gbe *-wũ. Cognates include Fon wùn

• IPA^(key): /ō.wũ̀/

owùn (plural owùn lɛ́ or owùn lẹ́)

1. thorn

Older form for the term salt mostly found in Eastern Yoruba varities. Cognates with Ede Idaca owun, Igala ómu, Ifè oŋu, proposed to be derived from Proto-Yoruboid *ó-ɓũ. The form likely referred to an indigenous salt, perhaps related to rock salt or halite, which was later replaced by salt imported from the North.

• IPA^(key): /ō.wũ̄/

owun

1. native salt

   Synonyms: uwanguẹ́ (“salt”), uwangwẹ́ (“salt”)

• IPA^(key): /ō.wũ̄/

owun

1. (transitive) to be (to have a quality or identification)

This verb cannot be used with regular subject pronouns such as mo or ó, and emphatic subject pronouns must be used in their place. This verb is also often used in a flipped structure where the quality or identification becomes the grammatical subject of the verb while an object pronoun is used for the actual subject of the sentence. The latter translated sentences better reflect the Itsekiri word order.

1. Àghan dede owun mo kpè. – I am calling them. or It is them that I call.
2. Ujó eyí wé nọ̀kàn owun ó ká jó – She/he only dances this dance. or It is this dance alone that she/he dances.

• IPA^(key): /ò.wũ̀/, /ō.wũ̀/

òwùn or owùn

1. voice
2. language

Compare with Igala ómu, Ifè oŋu, Ede Idaca owun, Northeast Yoruba oghun, proposed to be derived from Proto-Yoruboid *ó-ɓũ. Olukumi and Northeast Yoruba are the only descendants of Proto-Yoruba that retain this term

• IPA^(key): /ó.wṹ/

ówún

1. salt

• òun

Cognate with Yoruba òun, Igala òñwù

• IPA^(key): /ò.wũ̄/

òwun

1. (Ijebu) she/he/it (emphatic third-person singular personal pronoun)