kemosabe kemo sabe woodcraft sah tonto silverheels degruyter peeks trendle trusty ojibwe nyholm mullett wrather malouf tep kamp kee quien yeager quién jewell pennell comprehensible ojibwa fistfight seton ke potawatomi
in the lone ranger what does kemosabe mean
Ke - mo sah - bee - wikipedia Ke - mo sah - bee Ke - mo sah - bee ( / ˌkiːmoʊˈsɑːbiː / ; often spelled kemo sabe , kemosabe or kimosabe ) is the term of endearment used by the fictional Native American sidekick Tonto 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 '' , it is sometimes translated as `` trusty scout '' or `` faithful friend '' . 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 . Contents 1 Spelling 2 Meaning and origin 3 Use in the television series 4 Other uses 5 References Spelling ( edit ) Fran Striker , writer of the original Lone Ranger radio program , spelled the word `` ke - mo sah - bee '' . Meaning and origin ( edit ) There are many theories about the origin and meaning of this word . A common story is that it derives from a Spanish phrase such as `` ¿ Quién sabe ? '' or `` quien no sabe '' , meaning `` Who knows ? '' or `` he who does not know '' . This is implausible because 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 . 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 '' . Kamp Kee - Mo Sah - Bee was in an area inhabited by the Ottawa , who speak a language which 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 '' ) . There have been jokes about the name `` kemo sabe '' . A Far Side cartoon had the then long - retired Lone Ranger discover that the name meant the rear end of a horse . Homer and Jethro 's parody of the Stonewall Jackson song `` Waterloo '' had the following verse : `` The Lone Ranger and Tonto rode the trail / catching outlaws and putting them in jail / But the Ranger shot old Tonto ' cause it seems / he found out what Kemo Sabe means / ( Waterloo refrain follows ) The Lone Ranger he did trust / That old Tonto bit the dust . '' Use in the television series ( edit ) In the old Lone Ranger TV series , the Ranger 's faithful friend and partner Tonto , played by First Nations actor Jay Silverheels for the entire run of the series , was asked in many scenes what `` Kemosabe '' meant . His reply was invariably , `` It mean Trusty Scout ! '' The made - for - TV movie Enter the Lone Ranger ( 1949 ) combined the plots of the first three episodes of the Lone Ranger TV series : `` Enter the Lone Ranger '' , `` The Lone Ranger Fights On '' , and `` The Lone Ranger Triumphs '' into a complete story related to the origins of the Lone Ranger and his fight for justice for all regardless of sex , race , or creed . In both , Tonto finds the forever nameless younger brother of a famous Texas Ranger `` Capt . Reid '' barely alive . A medallion around the young man 's neck helps identify him as the same boy who 'd saved Tonto after a renegade attack had wiped out his own family some years earlier . Tonto declares the young man , played by Clayton Moore , worthy of brotherhood and , after a `` traditional '' blood - sharing ceremony gives him the name `` Kemosabe '' or `` Trusty Scout '' . Other uses ( edit ) Khemosabi was the name of a champion Arabian horse . His owners popularized his show career with a series of Lone Ranger themed cartoons . Kimosabe is a 1999 album by Kim Mitchell . Kemosabe Records , American record label owned by Sony `` Kemosabe '' is a 2013 song by the British indie pop band Everything Everything . Kemo Sabe is a fictional type of cruise missile in Matt Ruff 's book Sewer , Gas & Electric : The Public Works Trilogy . One is used to kill President Assad in the War of Syrian Containment ( in the book ) . Larry Pennell plays the character Kemosabe in the 2002 movie Bubba Ho - Tep . References ( edit ) Jay Silverheels biography : TONTO : The Man in Front of the Mask Jump up ^ Rhodes , Richard ( 1993 ) . Eastern Ojibwa = Chippewa - Ottawa Dictionary . New York : Mouton DeGruyter . p . Back cover . ISBN 3 - 11 - 013749 - 6 . Jump up ^ Striker , Jr. , Fran . `` What Does ' Kemo Sabe ' Really Mean ? '' . Old Time Radio . Retrieved November 12 , 2008 . CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Adams , Cecil . `` In the old Lone Ranger series , what did `` kemosabe '' mean ? `` . The Straight Dope . Retrieved June 1 , 2013 . Jump up ^ `` The Handbook of Private Schools '' . 1916 . Jump up ^ Seton , Ernest Thompson ( 1912 ) . `` The Book of Woodcraft and Indian Lore '' . Jump up ^ Adams , Cecil ( July 18 , 1997 ) . `` In the old Lone Ranger series , what did `` kemosabe '' mean ? `` . The Straight Dope . Retrieved 2011 - 11 - 28 . <Th_colspan="2"> The Lone Ranger <Td_colspan="2"> Tonto Creators Fran Striker George W. Trendle Television TV series ( 1949 -- 57 ) episodes First animated TV series ( 1966 -- 69 ) The Tarzan / Lone Ranger Adventure Hour ( 1980 -- 82 ) The Lone Ranger TV film ( 2003 ) Film The Lone Ranger ( 1938 serial ) The Lone Ranger Rides Again ( 1939 serial ) The Lone Ranger ( 1956 ) The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold ( 1958 ) The Legend of the Lone Ranger ( 1981 ) The Lone Ranger ( 2013 ) soundtrack Other Video game ( 1991 ) The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven ( 1993 ) Jack Wrather `` Ke - mo sah - bee '' Green Hornet `` William Tell Overture '' Disney Infinity `` The Lone Stranger '' ( 2007 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ke-mo_sah-bee&oldid=854748630 '' Categories : Lone Ranger Catchphrases Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 13 August 2018 , at 14 : 24 ( UTC ) . 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