Occasional Word in Merechi: lènyis

lènyis   ['lEnjis] n. quadruple, quartet; four-day week.

Today we're doing lènyis, a word meaning foursome, quadruple, quartet - and the four-day week of the mërèchi ceremonial calendar. The word is derived from lèn, four, and the suffix -yis, "group of".

Like the names of the seven tèpsëtyt covered yesterday, the names of the days in the lènyis are not meaningful in the mërèchi language. They are:

• nàksü ['naksu]


• mètü ['mEtu]


• làfü ['lafu]


• mëàrüa [me'arua]

Throughout the mërèchi-speaking area, these four days are consistently considered to have the following associations: nàksü, with fire; mètü, with green growing things; làfü, with the wind; and mëàrüa, with water.