Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/keleŕ

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

According to Bonnman and Fries, borrowed from Proto-Yeniseian *kʷetʳ-ja (“frog, lizard”)^[1] around the time of the Xiōngnú Confederacy, from an Arinic language, for which compare Arin kere (“frog”).

Cypriot Turkish kelte, Tatar кәлтә (kältä) and Chuvash калта (kalt̬a) has led some to erroneously reconstruct a *kel- root, however, such words are borrowed from Persian (“lame”) and are not Turkic.^[2]^[3] (See Tatar кәлтә елан (kältä yılan, “lizard (lit. short snake)”) and Turkish kertenkele (“lizard (lit. short lizard)”))

Noun

*keleŕ

lizard

Declension

Declension of *keleŕ
	singular ³⁾
nominative	*keleŕ
accusative	keleŕig, keleŕni¹⁾
genitive	*keleŕniŋ
dative	*keleŕke
locative	*keleŕte
ablative	*keleŕten
allative	*keleŕgerü
instrumental ²⁾	*keleŕin
equative ²⁾	*keleŕče
similative ²⁾	*keleŕleyü
comitative ²⁾	*keleŕligü

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

Descendants

Proto-Common Turkic: *kelez, *keler
- → Mongolic: [script needed] (keles)^[4]

Oghuz:
- West Oghuz:
  - Old Anatolian Turkish: كلر (keler)
    - Azerbaijani: kələz
    - Turkish: kelez, keler (dialectal)
  - ⇒ Old Anatolian Turkish: كلته كلر (kelte keler), كرتكنه (kertekene), كلتن كلر (kelten keler)
    - Azerbaijani: kərtənkələ
    - Gagauz: kistenkelä^[5]
    - Ottoman Turkish: كرتنكلر (kertenkeler), كرتنكله (kertenkele)
      - Turkish: kertenkele
Kipchak:
- Mamluk-Kipchak: كلاز, كَلَارْ (keler)^[6]
- South Kipchak:
  - Caspian:
    - Karakalpak: кескелдек
    - Kazakh: келес (keles)
Karluk:
- Karakhanid: كَلَرْ (keler, “lizard”)^[7]
  - Chagatai: کلاس (keläs)
    - Uzbek: kaltakesak
    - Uyghur: كېلەر (këler), كىلە (kile)

⇒ Proto-Turkic: *keleŕ-ge

Kipchak:
- Southern Altai: келески (keleski)
Siberian:
- Old Uyghur: 𐽷𐽰𐽻𐽶𐾁𐽷𐽳 (kʾsylkw /⁠käsilgü⁠/)
  - Western Yugur: kiselkə
- Khakas: килеске (kileske)
- Northern Altai: келески (keleski), кӧлӧскӧн (kölöskön)
- Tuvan: хелеске (xeleske)
- Shor: келескен (kelesken)

Animals in Turkic
Dog	dog: *ï̄t	Hunting Dog	hunting dog: *eker	Hen	hen: *tiakïgu
Lark	lark: *torgay	Pigeon	dove, pigeon: *kȫkerčin	Quail	quail: *bïldurčïn
Sparrow	sparrow: *serče	Hawk	hawk, falcon: *kïrguy	Goose	goose: *kāŕ
Wolf	wolf: *bȫrü	Cow	cow: *ingek	Calf	calf: *buŕagu
Camel	camel: *tebe	Young Camel	young of camel: kȫĺek, botu	Horse	horse: *at
Foal	foal: *kulun	Worm	worm: *kūrt	Snake	snake: *yï̄lan
Fox	fox: *tilkü	goat	goat: *keči	He-goat	he-goat: *teke
Lion	lion: *arsïlan	Fish	fish: *bālïk	Abramis brama	carp bream: *čapak
Donkey	donkey: *eĺčgek	Carp	carp: *siāŕgan	Catfish	catfish: *yāyïn
Beaver	beaver: *kunduŕ	Hedgehog	hedgehog: *kirpi	Badger	badger: *borsmuk
Fly	fly, mosquito: *siŋek	Bee	wasp, bee: *ārï	Gadlfy	gadfly: *bȫgen
Moth	moth: *küńe	Louse	louse: *bït	Earthworm	earthworm: *sïbuĺgan
Yak	yak: *kotuz	Colt	colt: *sïp	Dragon	dragon: *siāŕgan
Worm	worm: *kūrt	Deer	deer: keyik, sïgun, bulan, bugu	Lizard	lizard: *keleŕ

References

^ Bonmann, Svenja; Fries, Simon (2025), “Linguistic Evidence Suggests That Xiōng-nú and Huns Spoke the Same Paleo-Siberian Language”, in Transactions of the Philological Society‎^[1], volume 0, →DOI, page 9 of 1-24
^ Этимологический словарь чувашского языка (1964)
^ Eren, Hasan (1999), “kertenkele”, in Türk Dilinin Etimolojik Sözlüğü [Etymological Dictionary of the Turkish Language]‎^[2] (in Turkish), Ankara: Bizim Büro Basım Evi
^ Boeschoten, Hendrik (2022), A Dictionary of Early Middle Turkic (Handbook of Oriental Studies; I.169), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 14
^ Baskakov, N. A. (1991), İsmail Kaynak, A. Mecit Doğru, transl., Gagauz Türkçesinin Sözlüğü [The Dictionary of Gagauz Turkish] (in Turkish), Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları, page 152
^ Гаркавец А. Н. (2019), Kitāb‑i Macmū‛‑i Tarcumān‑i Türkī va ‛Acamī va Muġalī va Fārsī‎^[3], Almaty: Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakh Scientifc Research Institute of Culture, →ISBN, pages 348-349
^ al-Kashgarî, Mahmud (1072–1074), Besim Atalay, transl., Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Tercümesi [Translation of the “Compendium of the languages of the Turks”] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 521) (in Turkish), 1985 edition, volume 1, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurmu Basımevi, published 1939–1943, page 364

Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*keler / *keleŕ / *kelte”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[4], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill
Tenišev E. R., editor (1984–2006), Sravnitelʹno-istoričeskaja grammatika tjurkskix jazykov: [Comparative Historical Grammar of Turkic Languages:] (in Russian), Moscow: Nauka, pages 180-181
Levitskaja, L. S.; Dybo, A. V.; Rassadin, V. I. (1997), Etimologičeskij slovarʹ tjurkskix jazykov [Etymological Dictionary of Turkic Languages] (in Russian), volume 5, Moscow: Jazyki russkoj kulʹtury, pages 30-32, 34
Räsänen, Martti (1969), Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, page 250
“kelez, kelte”, in Türkiye'de halk ağzından derleme sözlüğü [Compilation Dictionary of Popular Speech in Turkey] (in Turkish), volume 8, Ankara: Türk Dil Kurumu, 1975

[1] Bonmann, Svenja; Fries, Simon (2025), “Linguistic Evidence Suggests That Xiōng-nú and Huns Spoke the Same Paleo-Siberian Language”, in Transactions of the Philological Society‎^[1], volume 0, →DOI, page 9 of 1-24

[2] Этимологический словарь чувашского языка (1964)

[3] Eren, Hasan (1999), “kertenkele”, in Türk Dilinin Etimolojik Sözlüğü [Etymological Dictionary of the Turkish Language]‎^[2] (in Turkish), Ankara: Bizim Büro Basım Evi

[4] Boeschoten, Hendrik (2022), A Dictionary of Early Middle Turkic (Handbook of Oriental Studies; I.169), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 14

[5] Baskakov, N. A. (1991), İsmail Kaynak, A. Mecit Doğru, transl., Gagauz Türkçesinin Sözlüğü [The Dictionary of Gagauz Turkish] (in Turkish), Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları, page 152

[6] Гаркавец А. Н. (2019), Kitāb‑i Macmū‛‑i Tarcumān‑i Türkī va ‛Acamī va Muġalī va Fārsī‎^[3], Almaty: Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakh Scientifc Research Institute of Culture, →ISBN, pages 348-349

[7] -Kashgarî, Mahmud (1072–1074), Besim Atalay, transl., Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Tercümesi [Translation of the “Compendium of the languages of the Turks”] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 521) (in Turkish), 1985 edition, volume 1, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurmu Basımevi, published 1939–1943, page 364

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]