Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/teŋri

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

Uncertain. Multiple theories have been posited over the years with no consensus. See Doerfer (1965) for more.

Most notably, Vovin has suggested a Proto-Yeniseian origin.

More at Tengri.

Noun

*teŋri

1. sky
2. (religion) god

Declension

Declension of *teŋri

	singular 3)
nominative	*teŋri
accusative	*teŋrig, *teŋrini1)
genitive	*teŋriniŋ
dative	*teŋrike
locative	*teŋride
ablative	*teŋriden
allative	*teŋrigerü
instrumental 2)	*teŋrin
equative 2)	*teŋriče
similative 2)	*teŋrileyü
comitative 2)	*teŋriligü

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

• >? Xiongnu: 撐犁 (*rtʰaːŋ.riːl)
• Oghur: *teŋri
  • Late-Oghur: *teɣri
    • Proto-Bulgar: *tewri/*tawrï
      • Danube Bulgar: ταγγρα (taɣra)
      • Volga Bulgar: *täü̯ri
        • Middle Chuvash: *tåu̯ri
          • Anatri Chuvash: турӑ (tură)
          • Viryal Chuvash: торӑ (toră)
• Proto-Common Turkic: *teŋri
  • →? Proto-Mongolic: *taŋgarag (“oath”)
    • Middle Mongol: ᠲᠠᠩᠭᠠᠷᠢᠭ (tangɣarig)
      • Mongolian: тангараг (tangarag)
      • → Manchu: [script needed] (taŋgarik)

• Oghuz:
  • Old Anatolian Turkish: تكری (teŋri), تنكری (tengri, teŋri), تاكری (taŋrı)
    • Azerbaijani: tanrı
    • Gagauz: Tangrı
    • Ottoman Turkish: تكری (tañrı, teñri), طاكری
      • Turkish: tanrı
      • → Laz: თანგრი (tangri), ტანგრი (ťangri), თრანგი (trangi), თანრი (tanri)
    • → Crimean Tatar: tañrı
    • → Crimean Karaim: танри, танъры
    • → Krymchak: taŋrï
  • Salar: danru
  • Turkmen: taňry
• Karluk:
  • Karakhanid: تَنْكْرٖى (tankrī /⁠teŋri⁠/)
    • Khorezmian Turkic: تنکری (tnkry /⁠täŋri, teŋri⁠/)
      • Chagatai: تینگری (teŋri), تنکری (täŋri)
        • Uzbek: tangri
        • Uyghur: تەڭرى (tengri)
• Kipchak:
  • North Kipchak
    • Bashkir: тәңре (təñre)
    • Tatar: тәңре (täñre)
  • Kipchak-Cuman:
    • Cuman: teꝯri, tengri
      • Mamluk-Kipchak: تنكري
      • Kumyk: тенгири (teñiri)
      • Karachay-Balkar: тейри (teyri)
      • Karaim: тэнъри, тэнри, тэндри
      • Krymchak: teŋri
  • Kipchak-Nogai:
    • Karakalpak: тәңир
    • Kazakh: тәңір (täñır)
    • Nogai: таьнъир (täñir)
  • Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
    • Southern Altai: теҥери (teŋeri)
    • Kyrgyz: теңир (teŋir)
• Siberian Turkic:
  • Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃 (t²ŋr²i /⁠täŋri⁠/)
  • Old Uyghur: 𐾀𐽺𐽷𐽾𐽶 (tnkry /⁠täŋri⁠/)
    • Western Yugur: deŋər (tiŋïr, “sky, heavens, weather”)
    • → Classical Mongolian: ᠲᠩᠷᠢ (tngri)
      • Mongolian: тэнгэр (tenger)
  • North Siberian Turkic:
    • Yakut: таҥара (taŋara)
  • South Siberian Turkic:
    • Yenisei:
      • Khakas: тигiр (tigir)
      • Shor: тегри (tegri)
    • Sayan:
      • Tuvan: дээр (deer)
      • Dukhan: [script needed] (teer)
      • Tofa: дээрі
    • Northern Altai: тегре (tegre), тенъери (tenʺyeri) (Kumandy-Kizhi)

References

• Agyágasi, Klára (2019), Chuvash Historical Phonetics (Turcologica; 117), Wiesbaden: Harrssowitz, page 240
• Clauson, Gerard (1972), “teŋri:”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 523-524
• Doerfer, Gerhard (1965), “944. تنکری (tängrī)”, in Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen [Turkic and Mongolian Elements in New Persian] (Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur: Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission; 19)‎^[3] (in German), volume II, Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, pages 577-585
• Räsänen, Martti (1969), Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, page 474
• Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*teŋri”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[4], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill