Abbreviation key
This key follows the table headed “Abbreviations used in Rasles’ Dictionary” in Pickering’s 1833 edition. English explanations have been added; apostrophes and overbars represent omitted letters, not Abenaki sounds. Typographic variants are simplified below.
The key opens separately so your selected entry stays open. It is included with the website and works offline.
Pickering’s published key
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| abs’tum | absolutum | Absolute form. |
| b’p | beaucoup | Much; many. |
| cab. | cabane | Cabin; dwelling. |
| co’e, cōe | comme | Like; as. |
| d’r | dicitur | It is said; the expression is used. |
| ē | est | Is. |
| id. ē | idem est; id est | It is the same; that is. |
| ign. | ignobilis; ignoble | Inanimate form of a noun or verb. A grammatical category, not a judgment of worth. |
| imp. | impératif | Imperative. |
| m. | mon | My. |
| m̄da | manda | Not; no. An abbreviated Abenaki word. |
| me’e | même | Same; even, depending on context. |
| nob. | nobilis; noble | Animate form of a noun or verb. Grammatical animacy need not coincide with biological life. |
| nō, no’ | nous | We; us. |
| Part. | Particulæ | The list of Particles at the end of the French part of the dictionary. |
| pl’s | plusieurs | Several. |
| q’ | que | That; than; other meanings depend on the sentence. |
| q’q’ | quelque | Some. |
| q’q’ ch. | quelque chose | Something. |
| R. | Réponse | Answer. |
| tō, to’ | tout | All; everything. |
| t’rs | toujours | Always; still, depending on context. |
| t’tum | tantum | Only. |
| t’te | toute | All; whole (feminine). |
| v’bis | verbis | In words; by words. |
| vō, vo’ | vous | You. |
| v. | vel | Or. Between alternative forms, this is not an instruction to “see” another entry. |
| v. g. | verbi gratiâ | For example. |
| 3. | Third person | Introduces the third-person form of a verb, often abbreviated to its opening letters. |
Further reading notes
These notes are editorial aids, separate from Pickering’s table.
- 1., 1st; 2., 2nd; 3., 3rd can mark grammatical person. A short form following a person label may be an abbreviated form, not a complete word. Elsewhere numbers may be quantities or references: read the context.
- Vid., vide: see. supra: above. infra: below. ibid.: in the same place.
- seu: or; sometimes introduces an explanatory alternative. scil. (scilicet): namely.
- pl.: plural. sing.: singular. subj.: subjunctive. The shorter sub. is context-dependent; it has not been assigned a universal expansion here.
- MS: manuscript. Manuscript page references are distinct from the printed edition’s page numbers and the scan’s image numbers.
- Lat.: Latin. Square brackets often supply an editorial expansion or explanation; [?] records uncertainty rather than a settled reading.
Source
Pickering’s printed abbreviation table is on scan page 8 of the Digital Maine / Maine State Library scan. The Explorer’s “Scanned sources” menu also links the other printed scans and Rasles’ handwritten notebook.