Wiktionary

User:Vahagn Petrosyan/research

< User:Vahagn Petrosyan

This is a list of entries containing original Armenian etymologies by me and other Wiktionarians. When no user name is mentioned after a proposal, it is understood to be mine.

Unlike Wikipedia, Wiktionary does not ban original research, so I have added most of these discoveries into Wiktionary's mainspace. Within the entries, the original research is not marked in any way and is anonymous, but I have mentioned the author in the edit summary.

Although I always check the standard references (e.g. HAB, J̌ahukyan 1987 and 2010, Klingenschmitt 1982, Olsen 1999, Martirosyan 2010), it is possible some of the stuff is already known. Such cases will be removed upon discovery.

If you're an academic, feel free to reference my work as "Vahagn Petrosyan, p.c." (as is done in {{R:xcl:Thorso:2023}}) or by linking to the Wiktionary entry itself (as is done in {{R:xcl:Viredaz:2025|page=59}}, where I'm "un arméniste anonyme").

The list is being constantly updated as I remove the etymologies I don't like anymore or add new ones. You can track the changes here.

In the last section I give a list of entries for which I have identified good published etymologies or other valuable information unnoticed by mainstream Armenology. In some cases I have synthesized or revised these materials, as indicated.

New etymologies

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Wiktionary entries incorporating our discoveries

New uncertain etymologies

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Tentative proposals, which are too uncertain to go into the mainspace

Unnoticed etymologies

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Entries with unnoticed etymologies
  • ակութ (akutʻ): Andronikashvili has suggested a good Ossetian etymology for the supposed Armenian borrowing Georgian აკუთა (aḳuta). I am considering the Armenian to be borrowed from Georgian, because that is the most logical way for Ossetian to enter Armenian.
  • աղագ (ałag): A native and an Iranian etymology have been suggested for the closely related Old Georgian ალაგი (alagi). See Talk:ალაგი
  • ամլիկ (amlik): The Turkic etymon has a well-known and easy native etymology: see əmlik. No need to connect it to ամ (am).
  • աշխարաւանդ (ašxarawand): Rapp connects with Old Georgian შარავანდი (šaravandi)
  • ատեան (atean): D. H. Müller's Semitic origin; User:Fay Freak has added Akkadian adiānu to the comparison
  • արտալայ (artalay): The Turkish material is much richer. See ardala and Talk:արտալայ.
  • աքիս (akʻis): Artvinli has recorded akiz in Khevak, a Hamshen village. See here, where by the way they are discussing my etymology of ախազ (axaz) without attribution.
  • բարտի (barti): The Kartvelian forms have a secure native origin from Proto-Kartvelian *bard- and cannot derive from Armenian. I wonder if the Armenian is a Kartvelian borrowing, but the semantics need an explanation.
  • բաց (bacʻ): Has a Georgian descendant as noticed by Marr apud Č̣q̇onia.
  • բիճ (bič): Deeters' derivation from Georgian apud Klimov 1998
  • բոզ (boz): according to Gabesḳiria, the borrowing is from Zan, whereas the Georgian is a reborrowing from Armenian; source found by User:Solarkoid
  • գայլիկոն (gaylikon): Kerestedjian's comparison with Greek, +my Syriac cognates, +my Pontic comparison
  • գարշիմ (garšim): Compare Zoller's Indian parallels with depalatalized g-
  • գաւառ (gawaṙ): Jahukyan's comparison with Middle Persian pargavār, found only in dictionaries without citations. If this Iranian word is secure and is formed with the preverb *pari- (“around”), then the Armenian is an Iranian borrowing. I find one hit for pargavār in the Karnamak edited in Persia. Someone should check it.
  • դահուկ (dahuk): Bruinessen's connection with the Kurdish. I am treating the Armenian as a Kurdish borrowing due to dialectal distribution and lateness. I consider [d-] a spelling pronunciation.
  • դե (de): according to Shanidze, borrowed from Georgian; source found by User:Solarkoid
  • երդ (erd): The supposed borrowing Mingrelian *ერდობა (*erdoba), ერთობა (ertoba, “*cluster of villages”) does not exist, as noticed by User:Simboyd at Talk:ერთობა.
  • երէզ (erēz): Dočanašvili's connection with Georgian
  • երինջ (erinǰ): Kartvelian etymology, as pointed out by User:Abkhazian1
  • երկինք (erkinkʻ): Marr's connection with Laz იკინა-ჩხა (iǩina-çxa), ერკინა-ჩხა (erǩina-çxa, “Tuesday”).
  • զավեշտ (zavešt): Hovhannisyan's? Iranian etymology
  • զեղխ (zełx): Kerestedjian's and Urišean's comparison with Arabic
  • թրեւ (tʻrew): Klimov's derivation from Georgian
  • թրեֆ (tʻref): Radlof connects with the family of Persian ترب (torob). Found by User:Fay Freak.
  • ժուռ (žuṙ): Kerestedjian's comparison with Kurdish, on which basis I assume an Iranian origin; User:Calak added Central Kurdish parallels
  • իղձ (iłj): It is said there are no cognates with *-l-, but compare Proto-Celtic *ēglā
  • խաշար (xašar, “pole, stick”): Georgian ხაშარი (xašari) is native, hence I put the Armenian as a Georgian borrowing
  • խէչ (xēčʻ): Laz ხაჯკეტი (xacǩeťi) has a transparent inner-Laz etymology and is not borrowed from Armenian
  • խիճ (xič): The Kartvelian material is much richer. See Talk:խիճ with literature and User:კვარია's original additions.
  • խիւս (xiws): Thorsø compares to Svan and considers this a Kartvelian borrowing. User:კვარია has added Old Georgian ხევსი (xevsi) to the comparison and believes the Kartvelian forms are not native. Kerestedjian compares to Classical Persian خیسیدن (xīsīdan, “to moisten, knead”). I considertheOldGeorgian and Old Armenian to be Iranian borrowings from the family of that Persian word.
  • ծամ (cam): Jahukyan compares to საწმისი (sac̣misi) and derives from Kartvelian. Now *c̣₁am- has been reconstructed for this, which is very fitting for Armenian. Jahukyan's comparison with წამი (c̣ami) should be abandoned.
  • ծեփ (cepʻ): origin from Georgian, which has a native Kartvelian etymology
  • կակաչ (kakačʻ): Shanidze connects the Georgian cognate with the family of Persian خشخاش (xašxâš), as pointed out by User:Solarkoid at Talk:ყაყაჩო; I have added additional members to that family from the languages of the Caucasus; User:Fay Freak has added Pashto forms; User:Calakhas added the Central Kurdish form; both of them propose ultimately a Turkic origin at Talk:կակաչ; I am inclined towards Iranian origin
  • կաղ (kał): The literature on the Caucasian parallels is ignored: see the references in Aghwan 𐕄𐔰𐔾𐔰 (ḳala) and Proto-Kartvelian *ḳel-. I have added Rutul кӏала (ḳala), кӏалаь (ḳalä), кӏал (ḳal) to the comparison. Note also that Acharyan's Georgian კელი (ḳeli) is unreliable:see Talk:կաղ.
  • կամ (kam): Aleksiva derives Laz ჩქარ (çkar) from this (found by User:Gubazes). I wonder if the ending of ჩქართე (çkarte) is թե (tʻe).
  • կառափն (kaṙapʻn): Schulze derives the Lezghian words from Armenian, but since those are usually considered native, I am taking the borrowing in the opposite direction.
  • կզակ (kzak): Olsen's? Iranian etymology
  • կէս (kēs): Kerestedjian's comparison with Persian keh, expanded by me
  • կթխայ (ktʻxay): The similarity with Georgian კათხა (ḳatxa) is accidental. See Reconstruction talk:Proto-Kartvelian/ḳatx-.
  • կճղակ (kčłak): The Kartvelian material is much richer than is known to Ačaṙean. See it collected at ჩლიქი (čliki) by User:კვარია, with his own additions. See also my thoughts at Talk:ჩლიქი
  • կոռ (koṙ): the Iranian origin, first proposed by Adontz
  • կռուիմ (kṙuim): The Georgian cognates are now considered native, so I have taken the borrowing in the opposite direction.
  • կցեմ (kcʻem): The supposed Georgian borrowing has a native etymology (*ḳec₁-), so I am taking the the borrowing in the opposite direction
  • ձախորդ (jaxord): the Turkish descendant identified by Nshanyan
  • ճճի (čči): Inčičean's explanation as an expressive formation.
  • մագիլ (magil): The Caucasian material is richer. See Nikolayev / Starostin and Saidova.
  • մակարդ (makard): Borrowed into New Greek and Pontic Greek, in addition to Cappadocian Greek. See also Talk:მაკათი for a potential Kartvelian etymology.
  • մառախուղ (maṙaxuł): The supposed Georgian borrowing მარახული (maraxuli) has interesting Nakh parallels found by Ḳaḳašvili. See Proto-Nakh *maaraʁo. Note that User:ɶLerman prefers to reconstruct the Proto-Nakh form as Proto-Nakh *maaraʁo instead of Proto-Nakh *marxo and that User:კვარია derives Georgian მარაგი (maragi, “sparsely clouded sky; cloud; thin cloud”) from Bats. In my opinion, we are dealing with a Northeast Caucasian borrowing in Armenian and Georgian.
  • մաքուր (makʻur): Bouda derives Georgian მაქური (makuri, “whetstone”) from this.
  • մկռոշ (mkṙoš): Satunin has identified the species as Sciurus anomalus.
  • մուխ (mux): Klimov has suggested a native origin for the supposed Laz descendant მღუმს (mğums). To me, both the Armenian and Laz look like sound symbolic formations.
  • մրգուզ (mrguz): Kerestedjian's and Urišean's comparison with Arabic marjūs, also reached independently by User:Fay Freak with additional materials; Kerestedjian's comparison with Latin murcus; +Syriac comparison by me; +Latin murgisō comparison by Fay Freak
  • նեխ (nex): Vogt derives from Kartvelian, which is likely if Fähnrich's Proto-Georgian-Zan reconstruction is secure
  • նիշտր (ništr): Gippert's reconstruction of the nominative as նիշտր (ništr). My comment: He assumes the attested nominative is նշտիր (nštir) and offers an explanation of its development from նիշտր (ništr), but this is unnecessary. The only attested form is the instrumentalնշտրով (nštrov) which can support a nominative նիշտր (ništr).
  • շահպրակ (šahprak): Is not from the Persian "ambergris" word (which is not a flower) but from شب‌بوی (šab-bôy), containing بوی (buy, “smell”). This follows by synthesizing the sources. My comment: Since the classical correspondence of بوی (buy, “smell”) isբոյր (boyr),could -ր- (-r-) explained by it?
  • շիտակ (šitak): Perikhanyan's Iranian etymology
  • շողիք (šołikʻ): Klimov's derivation from Zan
  • շուշտ (šušt): Hiwnkʿearpēyēntean's Iranian etymology
  • շփոթ (špʻotʻ): According to Andronikashvili, borrowed from Iranian (possibly via Georgian); source found by User:Solarkoid.
  • ուռն (uṙn): The Caucasian material is much richer. See უროჲ (uroy).
  • չաման (čʻaman): Ačaṙyan assumes that the Armenian, Turkish and "Eastern Turkish" (Azerbaijani) are independently borrowed from unattested Iranian, but the Turkish and Azerbaijani are only found in the dialects of Armenia and are borrowed from Armenian; see the Turkic entries with references. I propose a comparison with the sound correspondence seen in չամիչ (čʻamičʻ).
  • չանչ (čʻančʻ), չեչ (čʻečʻ): Has more Kartvelian comparanda than known to Acharyan. See the material User:კვარია and I collected at *čečw-.
  • չիղջ (čʻiłǰ): Inčičean's explanation as an expressive formation.
  • պարգև (pargew): Olsen's derivation from Iranian by comparing with Parthian. It is assumed the Iranian words contain *fra- (see *fragáHwah). In my opinion the Armenian may be borrowed from a cognate formation with *pari-. Note that according to Cheung the Sogdian reflex may beformed with *pari-.
  • սանտր (santr): Manns' PIE etymology. I note that the o-stem attested in Pʿarpecʿi fits the etymology, and that the original form is probably սանդր (sandr); for the PIE *nt > նդ (nd) see {{R:xcl:Olsen|page=809}}
  • սափոր (sapʻor): Henning's Iranian etymology
  • սնդիկ (sndik): Klaproth's Iranian etymology
  • սվորիկ (svorik): Marr had connected with Kurdish. I am deriving from Kurdish due to the dialectal distribution and the apparent nativity of Kurdish which has a regular m > v sound law.
  • վայ (vay): Bolognesi's Iranian etymology first published in 1984. The attempts to treat this as an inherited word won't die to this day.
  • ցեխ (cʻex): Ačaṙean thinks the similarity to Old Georgian ცხება (cxeba) is accidental. In my opinion, the connection is worthy of further investigation: compare especially ցխել (cʻxel) which is closer to the Georgian. We may be dealing with a Georgian-Zan borrowing. Note that Old Georgian ცხება (cxeba) iscognatewith reduplicated Mingrelian ცხაცხუა (cxacxua, “to apply, dab (a substance)”) and is reconstructable to the Proto-Georgian-Zan stage.
  • ցեց (cʻecʻ): The existence of emphatic Akkadian ṣāṣu is in doubt. See Talk:sāsum. I am therefore considering this word an independent expressive formation and not a Semitic borrowing.
  • ցիրդ (cʻird), ցրդի (cʻrdi): Has Laz and Hamshen Turkish descendants, all meaning Juniperus communis var. saxatilis. Perhaps the meaning in Armenian should be corrected to this from the uncertain "savin".
  • փագեն (pʻagen): Altunkaya 2016 connects with Laz. I am deriving from Laz because the word is native there.
  • փաթիլ (pʻatʻil): Has rich comparanda which I have summarized at փաթիլ (pʻatʻil). See Talk:փաթիլ for our original proposals on the ultimate origin.
  • փարախ (pʻarax): The Georgian is also attested as ფარახი (paraxi) in dialects, toponyms and as a borrowing in Bezhta and Hunzib. Ačaṙyan, knowing only the form ფარეხი (parexi), was shy to directly derive from it and only assumed borrowing from the family of ფარეხი (parexi), whereas Thorsø had to explain from an unattested Zan cognate. My simpler explanation is a borrowing from Old Georgian *ფარახი (*paraxi), a by-form of ფარეხი (parexi) surviving marginally. Whether the Georgian is indeed from ფარავს (paravs), I leave to Kartvelologists.
  • փուշ (pʻuš): Asatrian's Iranian parallels; see Talk:փուշ
  • քաղաք (kʻałakʻ): the Northern Kurdish parallel by Husein Muhammed in Rehnas – ferhenga etîmolojî ya zimanê kurdî, to which User:Calak added the Central Kurdish cognate
  • քամակ (kʻamak): Dervischjan's derivation from Iranian, corroborated by the Yagnobi, Roshani and Khufi terms I found in ESIJa
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