A MYSTERIOUS ANIMAL CALLED AL-WARK
A MYSTERIOUS ANIMAL CALLED AL-WARK
Author(s): Krzysztof Tomasz WitczakSubject(s): Language studies, Historical Linguistics, Comparative Linguistics, Turkic languages
Published by: Akadémiai Kiadó
Keywords: historical-comparative linguistics; Tocharian languages; animal names; oriental borrowings; Turkic languages;
Summary/Abstract: The paper examines the mysterious term al-wark, which – according to Maḥmūd of Kāşğarī (11th century AD) – denotes a small animal similar to a badger (Turk. borsmuk) in the Xakani language. This animal was treated as a symbol of fatness. It is suggested that the term in question was borrowed from a Tocharian source. The Indo-European term *wṛḱos (m.) ‘badger’ (originally ‘fat animal’, cf. Hittite warkant- adj. ‘fat’) is reconstructed on the basis of Indic, Greek and Anatolian lexical data.
Journal: Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
- Issue Year: 68/2015
- Issue No: 3
- Page Range: 335-339
- Page Count: 5
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF