Ke-mo sah-bee

Ke-mo sah-bee ( /ˌkiːmoʊˈsɑːbiː/; often spelled kemo sabe or kemosabe) is the term of endearment and catchphrase used by the intrepid and ever-faithful fictional Native American sidekick, Tonto, in the very successful American radio and television program The Lone Ranger. (The phrase is sometimes also used by the Lone Ranger himself.)

It is sometimes translated as "trusty scout" or "faithful friend" in Potawatomi.[1][2] Its use has become so widespread it was entered into Webster's New Millennium Dictionary in 2002.[2]

Spelling

Fran Striker, writer of the original Lone Ranger radio program, spelled the word "ke-mo sah-bee." However, the spelling kemo sabe (or kemosabe) is by far the most common in popular culture, receiving approximately 180,000 hits on Google search in April 2011, as opposed to ke-mo sah-bee's 15,800. The word was entered into Webster's New Millennium Dictionary (edited by Barbara Ann Kipfer) in 2002 under the spelling "kemosabe."[2]

Meaning and origin

Jim Jewell, director of The Lone Ranger from 1933 to 1939, took the phrase from Kamp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee, a boys' camp on Mullett Lake established by Charles W. Yeager (Jewell's father-in-law) in 1911; it is from Jewell that the definition "trusty scout" originates.[1]

The two most accredited origins are as follows:

John Peabody Harrington's Ethnogeography of the Tewa Indians, published in 1916, defines the Tewa words kema and Sabe as "friend" and "Apache", respectively; according to popular belief, a "Dr. Goddard" of the Smithsonian Institution made the Lone Ranger connection after reading a copy in the annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology.[1] However, given that the Tewa language is spoken by Puebloan peoples in New Mexico, and Kamp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee was in Cheboygan County, Michigan, this origin seems unlikely.

John D. Nichols' A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe defines the Ojibwe word giimoozaabi as "he peeks" (and, in theory, "he who peeks"), making use of the prefix giimoo(j)-, "secretly"; Rob Malouf, now an associate professor of linguistics at San Diego State University, suggested that "giimoozaabi" may have also meant scout (i.e., "one who sneaks").[3]

The etymology provided by Webster's New Millennium Dictionary is, "Has various meanings in Native American languages."[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Striker, Jr., Fran. "What Does 'Kemo Sabe' Really Mean ?". Old Time Radio. http://www.old-time.com/misc/kemo.html. Retrieved November 12, 2008. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Kemosabe". Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English, Preview Edition. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=kemosabe&r=66. Retrieved November 12, 2008. 
  3. ^ Adams, Cecil (July 18, 1997). "In the old Lone Ranger series, what did "kemosabe" mean?". The Straight Dope. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/971/in-the-old-lone-ranger-series-what-did-kemosabe-mean. Retrieved 2011-11-28.