արջն

Old Armenian

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. Has been compared to արջ (arǰ, “bear”), արջառ (arǰaṙ, “cattle”); Ancient Greek ὄρφνη (órphnē, “darkness of night”); Proto-Nakh *ʕaarč̣iᶰ; Khotanese rrāṣa (“dark-coloured”), Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬘𐬌𐬱 (rajiš, “darkness”), Sanskrit रजस् (rájas, “darkness”), रजनी (rájanī, “night”); Georgian არჯაკელი (arǯaḳeli), არჯიოკა (arǯioḳa).

Most likely the Armenian word is borrowed from Iranian. Note also the compound արջասպ (arǰasp, “vitriol”), wherein the -ասպ (-asp) is from Iranian and is not used in Armenian independently; therefore that compound is probably wholly-borrowed from Iranian.

Adjective

արջն • (arǰn)

1. black

   Synonym: սեաւ (seaw)

   • 5th century, Pʻawstos Buzand, Hayoc Patmutʻiwnʻ [History of the Armenians] III.14:

     Եւ յաւուրս ձմերանոյն՝ յորժամ կուտեալ դիզեալ զմեծութիւն բազմութիւն թանձրութեան ձեանցն կուտակեալ հիւս ձեանցն ի վերայ ձմերային լերանցն՝ յայնպիսի լերանց ի վերայ ընդ այնպիսի ժամանակի կամէր ուրեք երթալ ի պէտս ճանապարհի, յանկարծօրէն ձիւնն ցամաք արջն լինէր առաջի նորա։

     Ew yawurs jmeranoyn, yoržam kuteal dizeal zmecutʻiwn bazmutʻiwn tʻanjrutʻean jeancʻn kutakeal hiws jeancʻn i veray jmerayin lerancʻn, yaynpisi lerancʻ i veray ənd aynpisi žamanaki kamēr urekʻ ertʻal i pēts čanaparhi, yankarcōrēn jiwnn cʻamakʻ arǰn linēr aṙaǰi nora.

     • Translation by Nina G. Garsoïan

       And in wintertime, when a great thickness of snow was piled on the wintery mountains, and he wished to cross somewhere over such mountains at such a time because of the needs of a journey somewhere, the snow suddenly became black earth before him.

Usage notes

Outside compounds, արջն (arǰn) is independently attested only in the quoted passage of Buzand. But Greppin here too sees a compound ցամաք-արջն (cʻamakʻ-arǰn, “utterly black”).

Derived terms

• արջասպ (arǰasp)
• արջնաբոլոր (arǰnabolor)
• արջնագոյն (arǰnagoyn)
• արջնագռաւ (arǰnagṙaw)
• արջնազգեստ (arǰnazgest)
• արջնազգեցեալ (arǰnazgecʻeal)
• արջնաթոյր (arǰnatʻoyr)
• արջնայեղց (arǰnayełcʻ)
• արջնատես (arǰnates)
• արջնատեսակ (arǰnatesak)
• արջնդեղ (arǰndeł)

 

Further reading

• Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1971) “արջն”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, volume I, Yerevan: University Press, pages 335–336
• Greppin, John A. C. (1983) “An Etymological Dictionary of the Indo-European Components of Armenian”, in Bazmavep‎^[2], volume 141, numbers 1–4, Venice, pages 315–316
• Hovhannisyan, L. Š. (2010) “արջն”, in Grabari baṙaran. Nor haykazyan baṙaranum čʻvkayvac baṙer [Dictionary of Old Armenian. Words Unattested in the New Haykazyan Dictionary] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Edit Print, page 60a
• J̌ahukyan, Geworg (1981) “Hay-iranakan zugadipumner [Armenian–Iranian concurrences]”, in Banber Erewani hamalsarani [“Banber” – Bulletin of Yerevan University]‎^[3] (in Armenian), number 2, pages 21–22
• J̌ahukyan, Geworg (1987) Hayocʻ lezvi patmutʻyun; naxagrayin žamanakašrǰan [History of the Armenian language: The Pre-Literary Period]‎^[4] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Academy Press, pages 517, 609
• J̌ahukyan, Geworg (2010) “արջն”, in Vahan Sargsyan, editor, Hayeren stugabanakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Asoghik, page 95b
• Martirosyan, Hrach (2010) “arǰn”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 145