The Composition of Indian Geographical Names

A proper name has been defined to be a mere mark put upon an individual, and of which it is the characteristic property to be destitute of meaning. If we accept this definition, it follows that there are no proper names in the aboriginal languages of America. Every Indian synthesis—names of persons and places not excepted—must preserve the consciousness of its roots, and must not only have a meaning but be so framed as to convey that meaning with precision, to all who speak the language to which it belongs. Whenever, by phonetic corruption or by change of circumstance, it loses its self-interpreting or self-defining power, it must be discarded from the language.