գի

Armenian

Etymology

From Old Armenian գի (gi).

Pronunciation

• (Eastern Armenian) IPA^(key): /ɡi/, [ɡi]
• (Western Armenian) IPA^(key): /ki/, [kʰi]

Noun

գի • (gi)

1. Synonym of գիհի (gihi)
2. (dialectal) cypress

Declension

i-type, inanimate (Eastern Armenian)

	singular	plural
nominative	գի (gi)	գիեր (gier)
dative	գիի (gii)	գիերի (gieri)
ablative	գիից (giicʻ)	գիերից (giericʻ)
instrumental	գիով (giov)	գիերով (gierov)
locative	գիում (gium)	գիերում (gierum)
	definite forms
nominative	գին (gin)	գիերը/գիերն (gierə/giern)
dative	գիին (giin)	գիերին (gierin)
	1st person possessive forms (my)
nominative	գիս (gis)	գիերս (giers)
dative	գիիս (giis)	գիերիս (gieris)
ablative	գիիցս (giicʻs)	գիերիցս (giericʻs)
instrumental	գիովս (giovs)	գիերովս (gierovs)
locative	գիումս (giums)	գիերումս (gierums)
	2nd person possessive forms (your)
nominative	գիդ (gid)	գիերդ (gierd)
dative	գիիդ (giid)	գիերիդ (gierid)
ablative	գիիցդ (giicʻd)	գիերիցդ (giericʻd)
instrumental	գիովդ (giovd)	գիերովդ (gierovd)
locative	գիումդ (giumd)	գիերումդ (gierumd)

Old Armenian

Etymology

Since Lidén derived from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- (“to twist, wind, weave, plait”) (the reconstruction of the root is disputed), because of juniper's flexible branches used in plaiting or weaving, extended with *-t- or *-s-.

The Proto-Indo-European form from which գի (gi) is descended has been variously reconstructed as *wītā (“willow”) (Ačaṙean), *wey(H)-t- (Martirosyan), *wī̆so- or *weyso- or *woyso- from *wey-s- (“to twist, wind around”) (Lidén, Pokorny, Mallory/Adams).

Note also Proto-Kartvelian *ɣwiw-.

Noun

գի • (gi)

1. juniper (tree)
   • 5th century, Bible, Isaiah 41.19:

     Եւ բղխեցուցից յանջուր երկրին զմայրն եւ զտօսախն, զմուրտն եւ զնոճն եւ զսօսն, զսարդն եւ զսարոյն եւ զկաղամախն, զգին եւ զփայտն իւղոյ։

     Ew błxecʻucʻicʻ yanǰur erkrin zmayrn ew ztōsaxn, zmurtn ew znočn ew zsōsn, zsardn ew zsaroyn ew zkałamaxn, zgin ew zpʻaytn iwłoy.

     I will produce in the dry land the cedar and box, the myrtle and cypress and plane, the cedar and cypress and white poplar, the juniper and the olive wood.

   • 5th century, Agatʻangełos, Patmutʻiwn Hayocʻ [History of the Armenians] § 644:

     որպէս մայրն և նոճն և շոճն ե թեղօշն և սարդն և սարոյն և սոսն և յակրին և գին և կաղամախն և ուռին և տօսախն։

     orpēs mayrn ew nočn ew šočn e tʻełōšn ew sardn ew saroyn ew sosn ew yakrin ew gin ew kałamaxn ew uṙin ew tōsaxn.

   • 9th or 10th century, with changes and additions in later centuries, Tʻargmanutʻiwn dełocʻ zor əntrel en imastasērkʻn ew kargeal yayl lezuacʻ [A Medieval Arabic–Armenian Botanical Dictionary] :

     Ալոգհոլ (vars. ալոքհոլ, ալոյհոլ)՝ գիոյ պտուղ։

     Aloghol (vars. alokʻhol, aloyhol), gioy ptuł.

     الْأَبْهَل (al-ʔabhal) = fruit of the juniper

2. juniper (wood)

Declension

o-type

	singular	plural
nominative	գի (gi)	գիք (gikʻ)
genitive	գիոյ (gioy)	գիոց (giocʻ)
dative	գիոյ (gioy)	գիոց (giocʻ)
accusative	գի (gi)	գիս (gis)
ablative	գիոյ (gioy)	գիոց (giocʻ)
instrumental	գիով (giov)	գիովք (giovkʻ)
locative	գի (gi)	գիս (gis)

Derived terms

• գիհի (gihi)

Descendants

• Armenian: (literary) գի (gi), (Zeitun) գՙէ (gʻē), (Pingan) գՙի (gʻi, “cypress”)
• → Georgian: გია (gia)
• ⇒ Old Armenian: *գիհենի (*giheni) (with the botanical suffix -ենի (-eni))
  • Armenian: կէ՛նի (kḗni) — Lori, կէ՛նէ (kḗnē) — Karabakh, իգէ՛նէ (igḗnē) — Karadagh

Further reading

• Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1971) “գի”, 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, page 554ab
• Ačaṙyan, Hračʻya (1944) “Haykakankʻ A [Armeniaca I]”, in HSSṘ GA Teġekagir hasarakakan gitutʻyunneri [Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR: Social Sciences]‎^[1] (in Armenian), number 5, pages 27–28
• Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1979) “Haykakankʻ (Armeniaca)”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, volume IV, Yerevan: University Press, page 627
• Awetikʻean, G., Siwrmēlean, X., Awgerean, M. (1836–1837) “գի”, in Nor baṙgirkʻ haykazean lezui [New Dictionary of the Armenian Language] (in Old Armenian), Venice: S. Lazarus Armenian Academy
• Ġazarean, Ṙubēn (2000) “գի”, in G. B. Tʻosunean, editor, Grabari baṙaran [Dictionary of Old Armenian] (in Armenian), Yerevan: University Press
• Lidén, Evald (1905–1906) “Baumnamen und Verwandtes”, in Indogermanische Forschungen‎^[2] (in German), volume 18, pages 494–498
• Pokorny, Julius (1959) “²ueis-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 1133
• Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q., editors (1997), Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 644a
• Martirosyan, Hrach (2010) Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 212
• Petrosean, Matatʻeay (1879) “գի”, in Nor Baṙagirkʻ Hay-Angliarēn [New Dictionary Armenian–English], Venice: S. Lazarus Armenian Academy, page 119
• Thorsø, Rasmus (2023) Prehistoric loanwords in Armenian: Hurro-Urartian, Kartvelian, and the unclassified substrate‎^[3], PhD dissertation, Leiden University, page 57