Turkic words with mysterious etymologies

This page is here to collect words which do not seem to go back to Old Turkic and do not obviously come from a major contact language.

Kazakh words

• ayna - mirror
• awdar- - flip over, translate
• deŋgey - level
• qarmaq - fishing pole (cf. Kyrgyz qarma- below)
• şeşe - mother
• täwlik - day (24-hour period, not day time)
• sät - fortune (also 'moment', obvs ← Arabic)
• usta- - hold
• säbiy - baby
  • cf. Ottomon sabi
  • cf. Ossetian sabi
  • cf. Kurmanji sava
  • cf. Bashqort sabıy

Kyrgyz words

See also Kyrgyz words of Persian origin without Tajik cognates.

Nouns

• borbor - center
• topoz - yak
• sırğa - earring(s)
• söykö - earring(s)
  • cf. Manchu suihe - ear of grain; tassle, crest; end of whip
  • cf. Manchu suihun - a large earring used by men
  • cf. Khamnigan Mongol sīke~sēke/sıke - earrings
• momposuy - candy
• juurqan - blanket
  • cf. Manchu jurhu - coloured coarse linen cloth
• döŋ - hill
• çaŋ - dust
• çaarçıq - fawn
• çöntök - pocket
  • cf. Evenki čēmpu, čemtu, čempuli, čompuli - sack
  • cf. Manchu čontoho - a hole or gap in wall or dike
    • (čontohojombi - form a hole or gap)
• şakek - ring (jewelry)
• qoqo - Adam's apple
• şeyşep - sheet
• ibelik - rolling pin
  •  ?<*ibe ?cf. Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz "bread"
• deŋgeel - level (n.)
• çöpürök - fabric
  • cf. Old Uyghur çopra - rags
  • cf. Monoglic čoɣuda-sun - rags
• toqoy - forest
• ayna - powder
• qılım - century
  • ?cf. qıl - do
• bağelek - cuff
  • cf. Turkic bağ- - tie (Kyrgyz boo, bayla-)
• çeke - forehead (cf. çoqu - top of head)
  • cf. Middle Mongolian heki/hikin - head/front
  • cf. Middle Mongolian čoqu
    • cf. Shary Yoghur šəgən - head
    • cf. Khamnigan tsoxo - forehead
  • cf. Manchu šeŋgin - forehead
• qaqı(m)gül - dandelion
• bata - blessing
• mamı - [hitching] post
• jubay - member of a pair, spouse
  • cf. jup - even number, pair (from Persian?)
  • cf. Manchu juwe - two

Adjectives and Adverbs

• çoŋ - big
• çooçun - unfamiliar (person)
• mıjıqıy (adj) - killjoy
• çaq - perfect-fitting
  • cf. Manchu ciki - fit exactly
• qooz - pretty (for inanimate things)
  • cf. Mongolic ğo'a/ğoya - pretty
  • cf. Manchu χojo - pretty
• qoqus(tan) - suddenly
• melüün - warm (air)
  • cf. Mongolic bülegen - warm (liquid)
• tataal - complicated, complex
• jupun/jupunu - simple, light/thin (about clothes)
  • cf. Old Turkic yupqa/yuvqa/yuvğa/yuqa (kg. juqa) - thin
  • cf. Mongolic jöb-xön - simple (← jöb - correct)

Verbs

• mıjı(q)- - squeeze
  • cf. Khamnigan Mongol - bajūxu (bajū-)
• oodar- - flip over
• taarın- - be/get offended
  • cf. Manchu tarud- - chatter, talk nonsense, talk back
• çurqa- - run
  • cf. Manchu çurxu- - for a road to go a distance
• qorot- - waste
  • cf. Manchu qoro - loss, damage
• çoy- - stretch
• çayqa- - rinse (baş çayqa- - shake head)
  • cf. (kaz) şayqa- - shake

Proposed etymologies

Words on the above lists for which potential etymologies are discovered should be moved here.

• Kir. köynök, Kaz. köylek, etc. "shirt" appears to be from Turkic köŋil "shirt" +AK
• Kir. kelesoo "crazy/stupid", related to Persian kal(l)a "head" + Turkic soo "healthy/sober" ?
• Kir. qarma'- "grab, hold", related to Old/Middle Turkic qarva-/qarba- "grope", cf. Turkish kavra-, Yeniseian *qarba- - "grab"
  • cf. Mongolic ğar - hand
  • cf. WMo qarma- - rake up, gather together
  • cf. Manchu qarma- - protect, safeguard
• Kir. mömö "fruit flesh", cf. Uzbek meva, from Persian