Ӄук

Ket

Etymology

From 18th century Ostyak Ket guːk,[1] derived from Proto-Yeniseian *ɢujkʷ (hole). In Ket and Yugh mythology, the legendary hero Alba bore a hole through mountains so that Yenisei could flow north, hence the name.

Other names for the river Yenisei in other Yeniseian languages; Ostyak Yug xä-sês (xä-seːs), Kott pača-ul' (pača-ulʲ), Assan urgabɨ, Assan pača-ûl' (pača-uːlʲ) and Arin jikhuj; reflect a common compound, meaning big-river, while Kott kem and Assan kam reflect the historical name of the river that would be loaned into neighbouring languages, most notably into Orkhon Turkic 𐰚𐰃𐰢 (kim /⁠kem, kim⁠/, upper reaches of the Yenisei).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [quˑk˧], [quˑɣ˧]

Proper noun

Ӄук (Qūkn or m (no plural)

  1. (hydrology) the Yenisei River; traditional Ket name for the Yenisei
    Әтн хаа Ӄукдина дондаӈдагин. (Kellog dialect)
    Ə̄tn háà Qugdiŋa dɔndaŋdaɣin.
    We went straight to the Yenisei.
    Колет Красноярск Ӄукд ӄаатига хаапта. (Kureyka dialect)
    Kɔlɛt Krasnɔjarsk Qugd qaːtiɣa háàpta.
    The city of Krasnoyarsk stands on the banks of the Yenisei.

References

  1. ^ Werner, Heinrich (2005) “guːk [Das Ostjakische]”, in Die Jenissej-Sprachen des 18. Jahrhunderts, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 83

Further reading

  • Kotorova, Elizaveta, Nefedov, Andrey (2015) “qūk (1)”, in Большой словарь кетского языка, Münich: LINCOM, →ISBN, page 322
  • Vajda, Edward, Werner, Heinrich (2022) “*Quk”, in Comparative-Historical Yeniseian Dictionary (Languages of the World/Dictionaries; 79, 80), volume 2, Muenchen: LINCOM GmbH, →ISBN, page 722
  • Werner, Heinrich (2002) “Ӄук”, in Словарь кетско-русский и русско-кетский: Учебное пособие для учащихся начальной школы[1], 2 edition, Saint-Petersburg: Drofa, →ISBN, page 63
  • Werner, Heinrich (2002) “¹Quˑk”, in Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Jenissej-Sprachen, volume 2, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 140
  • Werner, Heinrich (2005) “Yenisei”, in Die Jenissej-Sprachen des 18. Jahrhunderts, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 335