kipisi

kipisi
Pronunciation	/ˈki.pi.si/
Usage	2023: Common (67% ↘︎ )2022: Widespread (73%)
Book and era	nimi ku suli (pre-pu)
Part of speech	Content word
Codepoint	󱥻 U+F197B

kipisi is a common content word and pre-pu nimi ku suli relating to splitting. It was formerly widespread according to the 2022 Linku survey, but has since declined in usage.

Etymology

The word kipisi is thought to be derived from Iñupiaq kipriruk, meaning "cut", or potentially Swahili kipisi, meaning "sliver, small piece of wood".

Semantic space

The semantic space of kipisi includes splitting, cutting, and otherwise dividing into pieces. It overlaps with pakala, and with using any number as a transitive verb, although the latter can refer to multiplication or division depending on context. kipisi can also refer to a piece of something.

jan li ken kipisi e ona tawa sike ante mute　

jan li ken kipisi e ona tawa sike ante mute.

People can cut it into many different circles.

ku

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as kipisi:

split⁴61–80% of respondents, division⁴61–80% of respondents, slice⁴61–80% of respondents, cut³41–60% of respondents, divide³41–60% of respondents, chop³41–60% of respondents, segment³41–60% of respondents, section³41–60% of respondents, portion²21–40% of respondents, piece²21–40% of respondents, part²21–40% of respondents, half²21–40% of respondents, rip²21–40% of respondents, clip²21–40% of respondents, separation²21–40% of respondents, chunk²21–40% of respondents, carve²21–40% of respondents, separate²21–40% of respondents, sector²21–40% of respondents, percentage²21–40% of respondents

sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for kipisi (󱥻) is derived from the division sign (÷). It was designed by jan Same, designer of the linja pona font, in October 2016, closely resembling the mathematical sign. It was later changed and the horizontal line being rotated to the side, similarly to the percent sign (%), to avoid confusion with lon. This version was included in version 1.0 of linja pona.

Further reading

• "kipisi" on lipu Linku
• "kipisi" on lipu Wikipesija
• "kipisi" on English Wiktionary