արջն

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Old Armenian

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Etymology

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The origin is uncertain. Has been compared to արջ (arǰ, bear), արջառ (arǰaṙ, cattle); Ancient Greek ὄρφνη (órphnē, darkness of night); Proto-Nakh *ʕaarč̣iᶰ; Khotanese rrāṣa (dark-coloured), Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬘𐬌𐬱 (rajiš, darkness), Sanskrit रजस् (rájas, darkness), रजनी (rájanī, night); Georgian არჯაკელი (arǯaḳeli), არჯიოკა (arǯioḳa).

Most likely the Armenian word is borrowed from Iranian. Note also the compound արջասպ (arǰasp, vitriol), wherein the -ասպ (-asp) is from Iranian and is not used in Armenian independently; therefore that compound is probably wholly-borrowed from Iranian.

Adjective

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արջն (arǰn)

  1. black
    Synonym: սեաւ (seaw)
    • 5th century, Pʻawstos Buzand, Hayoc Patmutʻiwnʻ [History of the Armenians] III.14:[1]
      Եւ յաւուրս ձմերանոյն՝ յորժամ կուտեալ դիզեալ զմեծութիւն բազմութիւն թանձրութեան ձեանցն կուտակեալ հիւս ձեանցն ի վերայ ձմերային լերանցն՝ յայնպիսի լերանց ի վերայ ընդ այնպիսի ժամանակի կամէր ուրեք երթալ ի պէտս ճանապարհի, յանկարծօրէն ձիւնն ցամաք արջն լինէր առաջի նորա։
      Ew yawurs jmeranoyn, yoržam kuteal dizeal zmecutʻiwn bazmutʻiwn tʻanjrutʻean jeancʻn kutakeal hiws jeancʻn i veray jmerayin lerancʻn, yaynpisi lerancʻ i veray ənd aynpisi žamanaki kamēr urekʻ ertʻal i pēts čanaparhi, yankarcōrēn jiwnn cʻamakʻ arǰn linēr aṙaǰi nora.
      • Translation by Nina G. Garsoïan
        And in wintertime, when a great thickness of snow was piled on the wintery mountains, and he wished to cross somewhere over such mountains at such a time because of the needs of a journey somewhere, the snow suddenly became black earth before him.

Usage notes

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Outside compounds, արջն (arǰn) is independently attested only in the quoted passage of Buzand. But Greppin here too sees a compound ցամաք-արջն (cʻamakʻ-arǰn, utterly black).

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Garsoïan, Nina G. (1989) The Epic Histories Attributed to P‘awstos Buzand (Buzandaran Patmut‘iwnk‘)[1], Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, page 87

Further reading

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  • Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1971) “արջն”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, volume I, Yerevan: University Press, pages 335–336
  • Greppin, John A. C. (1983) “An Etymological Dictionary of the Indo-European Components of Armenian”, in Bazmavep[2], volume 141, numbers 1–4, Venice, pages 315–316
  • Hovhannisyan, L. Š. (2010) “արջն”, in Grabari baṙaran. Nor haykazyan baṙaranum čʻvkayvac baṙer [Dictionary of Old Armenian. Words Unattested in the New Haykazyan Dictionary] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Edit Print, page 60a
  • J̌ahukyan, Geworg (1981) “Hay-iranakan zugadipumner [Armenian–Iranian concurrences]”, in Banber Erewani hamalsarani [“Banber” – Bulletin of Yerevan University]‎[3] (in Armenian), number 2, pages 21–22
  • J̌ahukyan, Geworg (1987) Hayocʻ lezvi patmutʻyun; naxagrayin žamanakašrǰan [History of the Armenian language: The Pre-Literary Period]‎[4] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Academy Press, pages 517, 609
  • J̌ahukyan, Geworg (2010) “արջն”, in Vahan Sargsyan, editor, Hayeren stugabanakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Asoghik, page 95b
  • Martirosyan, Hrach (2010) “arǰn”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 145