Reconstruction:Proto-Mongolic/hünegen

This Proto-Mongolic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Mongolic

Alternative forms

• *pünegen, *φünegen (pre-Proto-Mongolic, before disputed Ramstedt–Pelliot's law)

Reconstruction

Most languages show *hünegen, the raising or disappearance of the middle vowel in some forms is likely secondary.

Etymology

Analyzable as *hüne- +‎ *-gen, with the second element recurring in other animal names.

Noun

*hünegen

1. fox

Descendants

• Middle Mongol:
  • Mongolian: ᠦᠨᠡᠭᠡᠨ (ünegen)
  • Arabic: هوناكان (hünegen) (Muqaddimat), هُنْكانْ, هُُونْكان (hüngen) (Leiden manuscript)
  • Armenian: հօնքան (hōnkʻan) (Kirakos Gandzaketsi)
  • Chinese: 伏捏革 (Beilu Yiyu), [script needed] (hunegen) (Secret History)
  • Phags-Pa: ꡜꡠꡟ (heu-) (text damaged)

• Mongolian:
  • Classical: ᠦᠨᠡᠭᠡ (ünege)
  • Khalkha Mongolian: үнэг (üneg)
  • Ordos: /ʉnege/
• Buryat: үнэгэ (ünege), үнэгэн (ünegen)
• Khamnigan Mongol: ünege(n)
• Kalmyk: үнгн (üngn)
• Daur: xunugw, hunehe, ünüg
• East Yugur: hönegen, henegen
• Monguor:
  • Mangghuer: hundughai
  • Mongghul: finiga, funiɢe
    • → Persian: فنک (fanak)
      • → Arabic: فَنَك (fanak), فَنَج (fanaj) (see there for further descendants)
• Kangjia: fünigo
• Dongxiang: funiegve, funiegven, funieɣè
• Mogholi: eljigan

Further reading

• Nugteren, Hans (2011), Mongolic phonology and the Qinghai-Gansu languages (dissertation)‎^[1], Utrecht: LOT, page 369
• Poppe, Nicholas (1955), Introduction to Mongolian comparative studies, Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, page 55
• Poppe, Nicholas (1964), “On some Mongolian names of wild beasts”, in Central Asiatic Journal‎^[2], volume 9, number 3, pages 162–163