Ke-mo sah-bee

Ke-mo sah-bee (/ˌkiːmoʊˈsɑːbiː/; often spelled kemo sabe, kemosabe or kimosabe) is the term used by the fictional Native American sidekick Tonto as the "Native American" name for the Lone Ranger in the American television and radio programs The Lone Ranger. It has become a common catchphrase.

Ultimately derived from gimoozaabi, an Ojibwe and Potawatomi word that may mean "he/she looks out in secret",[1] it has been occasionally translated as "trusty scout" (the first Lone Ranger TV episode, 1949) or "faithful friend".[2]

In the 2013 film The Lone Ranger, Tonto states that it means "wrong brother" in Comanche, a seemingly tongue-in-cheek translation within the context of the plot.

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 in Michigan, established by Charles W. Yeager (Jewell's father-in-law) in 1916.[3] Yeager himself probably took the term from Ernest Thompson Seton, one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, who had given the meaning "scout runner" to Kee-mo-sah'-bee in his 1912 book The Book of Woodcraft and Indian Lore.[4]

Kamp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee was in an area inhabited by the Ottawa, who speak a language that is mutually comprehensible with Ojibwe. John D. Nichols and Earl Nyholm's 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 indeed have also meant scout (i.e., "one who sneaks").[5]

Another possible interpretation to Kemo Sabe is in reference to the Lone Ranger's mask, which could be interpreted as "he who peeks" from behind the mask.

Other uses
  • Features in the song "The Lone Ranger", a song by the British band Quantum Jump in 1979.

References
  1. Rhodes, Richard (1993). "Eastern Ojibwa". Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. New York: Mouton DeGruyter. p. Back cover. ISBN 3-11-013749-6.
  2. Striker, Fran Jr. "What Does 'Kemo Sabe' Really Mean ?". Old Time Radio. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  3. Sargent, Porter E. (1916). "Boys' Summer Camps". A Handbook of Private Schools. Boston: Porter E. Sargent: 267. Archived from the original on 2021-01-01. Retrieved 2020-11-28. Kamp Kee-Mo-Sah-Bee, a summer camp and school of wood-craft at Mullet Lake, will open this year under the direction of Charles W. Yeager, Gymnasium and Athletic Director at the Detroit University School.
  4. Seton, Ernest Thompson (1912). The Book of Woodcraft and Indian Lore. Doubleday, Page, and Company. p. 134. kee-mo-sah-bee
  5. Adams, Cecil (July 18, 1997). "In the old Lone Ranger series, what did "kemosabe" mean?". The Straight Dope. Archived from the original on 2011-11-20. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
  6. Wagner, John (1997). A History of Violence. USA: Vertigo Comics. p. 143. ISBN 1-56389-367-3.
  7. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Sugarhill Gang - Apache (Jump On It) (Official Video)". YouTube.
  8. "MacGyver Episode Guide » Season 3". www.rusted-crush.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  9. "Everything Everything - Kemosabe". YouTube.
  10. "YouTube, a Google company". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2012-11-01.
  11. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "I'm gonna take a pillowcase and fill it full of bars of soap...and beat the shit out of you". YouTube.
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