Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/ẹrkek

This Proto-Turkic 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-Turkic

Etymology

It has originally been considered to be a derivation from the near-synonymous *ēr (“man”), however most sources have since disputed this, noting the vowel mismatch (*ẹ- as opposed to *ē-) and impossible morphology (the denominal suffix *-kek ~ *-gek is used to form body parts).

Erdal instead suggests a derivation from *ẹrk (“young ram”) with the diminutive suffix *-ak, compare *oglak (“kid”), the diminutive of *ogul (“child”), for a reverse semantic shift.

Could be related to *erkeč (“he-goat”) if it was originally pronounced *ẹrkeč.

Adjective

*ẹrkek or *hẹrkek

1. (Common Turkic) male

   Synonym: *ēr

Declension

Declension of *ẹrkek

	Singular 3)
Nominative	*ẹrkek
Accusative	*ẹrkekig, *ẹrkekni1)
Genitive	*ẹrkekniŋ
Dative	*ẹrkekke
Locative	*ẹrkekde
Ablative	*ẹrkekden
Allative	*ẹrkekgerü
Instrumental 2)	*ẹrkekin
Equative 2)	*ẹrkekče
Similative 2)	*ẹrkekleyü
Comitative 2)	*ẹrkekligü

¹⁾ Originally only in pronominal declension.
²⁾ The original instrumental, equative, similative & comitative cases have fallen into disuse in many modern Turkic languages.
³⁾ Plurality is disputed in Proto-Turkic. See also the notes on the Proto-Turkic/Locative-ablative case and plurality page in Wikibooks.

Descendants

• Arghu:
  • Khalaj: hirkək
• Oghuz:
  • West Oghuz:
    • Old Anatolian Turkish:
      • Azerbaijani: erkək
      • Ottoman Turkish: اركك (erkek)
        • Gagauz: erkek
        • Turkish: erkek
  • Oghuz-Uyghur:
    • Salar: erkik
  • East Oghuz:
    • Turkmen: erkek
• Karluk:
  • Karakhanid: اَرْكَكْ (erkek)
    • Uzbek: erkak
• Kipchak:
  • North Kipchak:
    • Bashkir: иркәк (irkək)
    • Tatar: иркәк (irkäk)
  • South Kipchak:
    • Kazakh: еркек (erkek)
  • East Kipchak:
    • Kyrgyz: эркек (erkek)
    • Southern Altai: эркек (erkek)
• Siberian:
  • Old Turkic: 𐰃𐰼𐰚𐰚 (érkek)
    • Old Uyghur: [script needed] (érkek, irkek)
      • Western Yugur: erkik
  • North Siberian:
    • Dolgan: иргэк (irgek)
    • Yakut: иргэх (irgeq)
  • South Siberian:
    • Sayan Turkic:
      • Tuvan: иргэк (irgek)

References

• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “érkek”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pages 223-224
• Erdal, Marcel (1991) Old Turkic Word Formation‎^[2], volume I, Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 41
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “erkek”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Räsänen, Martti (1969) Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, page 46
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[3], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill