Turkic words with mysterious etymologies

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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
  • qaqım - dandelion
    • cf. Uzbek qoqi

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