Proto-Turkic/Vocabulary

Welcome to fifth lesson in Proto-Turkic, wikibooks!

• water - *sub^[1]
• earth - *toprak^[2]
• fire - *ōt^[3]
• wind - *yẹl^[4]

The words are short for the peoples who lead a nomadic life in the steppes of East Asia. Due to this lifestyle and various factors, people have formed words with one or two syllable roots. Long words are only provided with suffixes.

• wheat - *bodagay^[5]
• barley - *arpa^[6]
• millet - *tạrïg^[7]
• egg - *yumurtka^[8]
• salt - *tūŕ^[9]
• onion - *sōgun^[10]
• hen - *takïgu^[11]
• meat - *et^[12]
• milk - *sǖt^[13]
• honey - *bạl^[14]
• butter - *yāg^[15]
• cherry - *yidge (complicated)^[16]
• strawberry - *yidgelek (complicated)^[16]
• bird cherry - *yïmurt
• fruit, vegetable - *yẹ̄miĺč^[17]

In today's Turkic languages, an old Common-Turkic word *čiye and Proto-Turkic *yidgelek are blended. Therefore, there is confusion in inheritances.

• horse - *at^[18]
• foal - *kulum
• cow - *ingek^[19]
• calf - *buŕagu^[20]
• dog - *ït^[21]
• wolf - *bȫrü^[22]
• fox - *tilkü^[23]
• ox - *öküŕ^[24]
• bull - *buka^[25]
• worm - *kūrt^[26]
• bird - *kuš^[27] (Proto-Common Turkic)
• small bird - *torgay^[28]
• hawk, falcon - *kïrguy
• aquila fulva, eagle - *bürküt^[29]
• fish - *bālïk^[30]
• sheatfish - *yāyïn^[31]
• carp - *sāŕgan^[32]
• lion - *arsïlan^[33]
• snake - *yï̄lan^[34]
• mosquito - *siŋek^[35]
• wasp, bee - *ārï^[36]
• beetle - *koŋuŕ
• insect - *bȫg^[37]
• elk - *bulan^[38]
• he-goat - *teke^[39]
• sheep - *sarïk^[40]
• donkey - *eĺčgek^[41]

...

Animals have a very wide range in this language. It's not strange at all, considering the years it was spoken.

Next lesson:  Genitive, accusative and dative cases

1. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/sub
2. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/toprak", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-07-02, retrieved 2025-08-06
3. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/%C5%8Dt
4. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/yẹl", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-07-22, retrieved 2025-08-06
5. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/bu%C4%9Fda#Azerbaijani
6. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/arpa
7. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/t%E1%BA%A1r%C3%AF-g
8. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/yumurtka
9. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/tūŕ", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-06-22, retrieved 2025-08-06
10. ↑ Robbeets, Martine (2017). "Transeurasian core structures in Turkic". Turkic Languages. 21 (1): 3–35. doi:10.13173/tl/2017/1/3. ISSN 1431-4983.
11. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/takïgu", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-03-29, retrieved 2025-08-06
12. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/et", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-07-02, retrieved 2025-08-06
13. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/sǖt", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-01-12, retrieved 2025-08-06
14. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bal", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-04-28, retrieved 2025-08-06
15. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/yāg", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-08-04, retrieved 2025-08-06
16. ↑ ^{a b} https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/%DA%86%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%83#Ottoman_Turkish
17. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/yẹ̄miĺč", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-07-12, retrieved 2025-08-06
18. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/at
19. ↑ [1]
20. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bu%C5%95agu
21. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/ï̄t", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-06-27, retrieved 2025-08-06
22. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bȫrü", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-06-08, retrieved 2025-08-06
23. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/tilkü", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-05-25, retrieved 2025-08-06
24. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/%C3%B6k%C3%BC%C5%95
25. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/buka
26. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/kūrt", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-06-09, retrieved 2025-08-06
27. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/kuš", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-05-19, retrieved 2025-08-06
28. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/torgay", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-06-12, retrieved 2025-08-06
29. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bürküt", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-02-19, retrieved 2025-08-06
30. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bālïk", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-02-19, retrieved 2025-08-06
31. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/yāyïn", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-05-01, retrieved 2025-08-06
32. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/sāŕgan", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-04-30, retrieved 2025-08-06
33. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/aslan
34. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/yï̄lan", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-04-30, retrieved 2025-08-06
35. ↑ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/si%C5%8Bek
36. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/ārï", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-05-19, retrieved 2025-08-06
37. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bȫg", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-04-03, retrieved 2025-08-06
38. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bulan", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-02-19, retrieved 2025-08-06
39. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/teke", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-07-23, retrieved 2025-08-06
40. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/sarïk", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2025-05-04, retrieved 2025-08-06
41. ↑ "Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/eĺčgek", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2024-12-15, retrieved 2025-08-06