Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/alma

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

Several possibilities:

• From Sanskrit अम्ल (amla, “sour”), but its plant name usage is for wood-sorrel.
• From Sanskrit अमल (amala, “immaculate, white, shining; emblic, amla”), आमलक (āmalaka), आमलकी (āmalakī, “emblic”), widely passed into Iranian and via Arabic أَمْلَج (ʔamlaj) into European.
• From Sanskrit आम्र (āmra, “mango”), also widely passed, but reflects instead with -mb-, exemplarily Arabic أَنْبَج (ʔanbaj).
• Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl, the same root whence also English apple, with the immediate source perhaps being Tocharian .
• From *āl + Latin malum.
• From *a(ː)lima, from *almïla, as attested in Karakhanid, in turn possibly cognate with Ancient Greek μῆλον (mêlon, “apple”).

Noun

*alma

1. apple (Common Turkic)

Declension

Declension of *alma (Common Turkic)

	singular	plural2)
nominative	*alma	*almalar
accusative
genitive	*almanïŋ	*almalarnïŋ
dative	*almaka	*almalarka
locative	*almada	*almalarda
ablative	*almadan	*almalardan
instrumental1)		*almalarïn
equative1)	*almača	*almalarča

¹⁾The original instrumental and equative cases have fallen into disuse in many Common Turkic languages.
²⁾This plural suffix is used only on Common Turkic, and not in Oghur. See also the notes on the Proto-Turkic/Locative-ablative case and plurality page on Wikibooks.

Descendants

• →⇒ Sogdian: [script needed] (Almalukču /⁠’δmδwkc⁠/)
• Common Turkic:
  • Proto-Oghuz: *alma
    • West Oghuz:
      • Old Anatolian Turkish: [script needed] (alma)
        • Azerbaijani: alma
        • Ottoman Turkish: الما, آلما (alma)
          • Turkish: elma
          • → Middle Armenian: Էլմա (Ēlma)
    • East Oghuz:
      • Turkmen: alma
  • Karluk:
    • Karakhanid: اَلْما (alma)
      • Khorezmian Turkic: الما (alma)
        • Chagatai: الما (alma)
          • Uzbek: olma
          • Uyghur: ئالما (alma)
  • Kipchak:
    • Kipchak: الما (alma)
      • North Kipchak:
        • Bashkir: алма (alma)
        • Tatar: алма (alma)
          • → Chuvash: улма (ulma) (likely)
          • → Udmurt: улмо (ulmo)
          • → Western Mari: олма (olma)
          • → Eastern Mari: олма (olma)
      • West Kipchak:
        • Crimean Tatar: alma
        • Karachay-Balkar: алма (alma)
        • Kumyk: алма (alma)
        • Urum: алма
      • South Kipchak:
        • Kazakh: алма (alma)
        • Karakalpak: алма
        • Nogai: алма (alma)
      • East Kipchak:
        • Kyrgyz: алма (alma)
        • Southern Altai: алама (alama)
  • → Hungarian: alma
  • →? Sudovian: ałm

References

• Sevortjan, E. V. (1974) Etimologičeskij slovarʹ tjurkskix jazykov [Etymological Dictionary of Turkic Languages] (in Russian), volume I, Moscow: Nauka, page 138
• Cheung, J., & Aydemir, H. (2015). Turco-Afghanica. On East Iranian *amarnā and Turkic alma, alïmla, almïla‚ ‘apple‘. in Na pastbišče mysli blagoj, 73-94.
• https://tdk.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20140619.pdf