Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/yabaĺč

Proto-Turkic

Reconstruction Notes

There is no consensus on the identity of the final sibilant sound for the Proto-Turkic stage. Reconstruction with the postulated palatalized alveolar coda ( *ĺ ) is unfounded, with no Oghur descendants to support it.

Alternative Reconstructions

• *yabaĺ (per EDAL)
• *yabaš (per Räsänen)

Etymology

Unknown. Probably a deverbal from the unattested verb *yaba- (“to calm down (?)”), further etymology cannot be satisfactorily established.

Räsänen, Vasmer and Nemeth suggest that the ethnonym for Chuvash people (čăwaš) is borrowed from *yabaš (“calm, peaceful”), via intermediaries. Proto-Mongolic *namukan is given as a cognate by Räsänen (cf. Mongolian намхан (namxan, “gentle, peaceful”))

Altaicists instead compare *yabaĺ with Khalkha Mongolian зөөлөн (zöölön, “soft, weak”) (cf. Written Mongolian ᠵᠣ᠊᠊ᠢ᠊ᠭᠡ᠊ᠯ‍ᠠ‍᠊ᠨ (ʒögelen)) and Japanese 柔ら (yawara, “something soft, fragile, gentle”). Despite semantic and phonological similarities, Altaic comparisons are severely criticized by mainstream historical linguistics.

Adjective

*yabaĺč

1. peaceful, quiet, calm, mild (Common Turkic)

   Synonyms: *akuru(n), *amul (~ -ïl), *enč, *tölen

2. slow (Oghuz Turkic)

   Synonym: *akuru(n)

3. soft (Karakhanid, Siberian Turkic)

   Synonyms: *yïmĺčak, *gebešek

Descendants

• Common Turkic: *yabaš
  • →⇒? Proto-Mongolic: *namukan (“peaceful, gentle”) (from the hypothetical *yaba-kan (“id.”))
  • Oghuz:
    • Old Anatolian Turkish:
      • Azerbaijani: yavaş
        • → Persian: یواش (yavâš)
          • → Khalaj: yəvâş
      • Ottoman Turkish: یواش (yavaş, “patient, mild, peaceable”)
        • Turkish: yavaş
        • Gagauz: yavaş
    • East Oghuz:
      • Turkmen: ýuwaş
• Karluk:
  • Karakhanid: [script needed] (yawaš)
    • Chagatai: [script needed] (yawaš)
      • Uyghur: [script needed] (yuwaš) (dialectal)
      • Uzbek: yuvosh
  • ⇒ Karakhanid: [script needed] (yawa kiši, “a person who is timid, mild, tractable, and peaceable; docile (of animals)”)
  • ⇒ Karakhanid: [script needed] (yawa yḗr, “warm, cozy place”)
• Kipchak:
  • Kipchak: iavas (yawa:š, “docile and obsequious (of animals)”)
  • Kipchak-Bulgar:
    • Bashkir: йыуаш (yıwaş)
    • Middle Tatar: *ʒovaš ("peaceful, hospitable")
      • →? Chuvash: чӑваш (čăvaš, “Chuvash”)
        • → Eastern Mari: суас (suas, “Tatar”)
        • → Tatar: чуаш (çuwaş, “Chuvash”)
          • Russian: чува́ша (čuváša, “unkempt man”) (dialectal)
      • Tatar: юаш (yuaş), юваш (yuwaş)
  • Kipchak-Cuman:
    • Crimean Tatar:
    • Krymchak: йуваш
    • Karachay-Balkar: джууаш (cuuaş)
    • Kumyk: яваш (yawaş), юваш (yuwaş)
    • Karaim: йуваш
    • Urum: йываш
  • South Kipchak:
    • Kipchak-Nogai:
      • Kazakh: жуас (juas)
      • Nogai: ювас (yuvas)
  • Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
    • Kyrgyz: жоош (jooş)
    • Southern Altai: јобош (ǰoboš)
• Siberian Turkic:
  • North Siberian Turkic:
    • Earlier Yakut: *samā- ("calm, pleasant, easy-going")
      • ⇒? Yakut: самаан (samaan, “favourable summer, warm weather”)
  • South Siberian Turkic:
    • Old Uyghur: yʾpʾs (yabaš)
    • ⇒? Old Uyghur: yʾp yʾp (yap-yap, “timidly”)
    • Khakas: чабас (çabas)
    • Northern Altai: [script needed] (ďoboš)
    • Shor: чобаш (čobaš)
    • Tuvan: чааш (çaaş)
    • Tofa: чааш (čāš)

References

• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “yavaş (yava:ş)”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 880
• Räsänen, Martti (1969) “jabaš, yawaš”, in Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, page 175
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*jabaĺ”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill