Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/altūn

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

Unknown.

Disyllabic root and the sense "copper" present in Yakut hints at a compound of *āl (“scarlet, red”) +‎ *tun (“copper”), second element borrowed from Middle Chinese 銅 (duŋ, “copper”), although vowel length does not match.

Likely related to Proto-Mongolic *altan (“gold”). Compare Mongolian алт (alt), Dongxiang antang and Daur alt.

Noun

*altūn

1. gold (metal)

Declension

Declension of *altūn

	singular 3)
nominative	*altūn
accusative	*altūnug, *altūnnï1)
genitive	*altūnnuŋ
dative	*altūnka
locative	*altūnta
ablative	*altūntan
allative	*altūngaru
instrumental 2)	*altūnun
equative 2)	*altūnča
similative 2)	*altūnlayu
comitative 2)	*altūnlugu

¹⁾ Originally used only in pronominal declension.
²⁾ The original instrumental, equative, similative, and comitative cases have fallen into disuse in many modern Turkic languages.
³⁾ Plurality in Proto-Turkic is disputed. See also the notes on the Proto-Turkic/Locative-ablative case and plurality page on Wikibooks.

Descendants

• Oghur:
  • Bulgar: الطن (altın)
    • Chuvash: ылтӑн (ylt̬ăn)
• Common Turkic: *altun
  • Proto-Oghuz: *altun
    • Old Anatolian Turkish:
      • Azerbaijani: altun
      • Ottoman Turkish: آلتون (altun, altın)
        • Gagauz: altın
        • Turkish: altın
    • Salar: altun
    • Turkmen: altyn
  • Karluk:
    • Karakhanid: اَلْتُونْ (altūn)
      • Khorezmian Turkic: [script needed] (altūn)
        • Chagatai: [script needed] (altun)
          • Uzbek: oltin
          • Uyghur: ئالتۇن (altun)
  • Kipchak:
    • Kipchak: التن (altın)
      • Kipchak-Bulgar:
        • Bashkir: алтын (altın)
        • Tatar: алтын (altın)
      • Kipchak-Cuman:
        • Crimean Tatar: altın
        • Karachay-Balkar: алтын (altın)
        • Kumyk: алтын (altın)
        • Karaim: алтын
        • Krymchak: алтын
      • Kipchak-Nogai:
        • Kazakh: алтын (altyn)
        • Karakalpak: alti’n
        • Nogai: алтын (altın)
      • Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
        • Kyrgyz: алтын (altın)
        • Southern Altai: алтын (altïn)
  • Siberian Turkic:
    • Old Turkic: 𐰞𐱃𐰆𐰣 (l¹t¹un¹ /⁠altun⁠/)
    • Old Uyghur: 𐽰𐽰𐾁𐾀𐽳𐽺 (ʾʾltwn /⁠altun⁠/)
      • Western Yugur: [script needed] (aʰltïm)
    • North Siberian Turkic:
      • Dolgan: алтан (“copper”)
      • Yakut: алтан (altan, “copper”)
    • South Siberian Turkic:
      • Sayan Turkic:
        • Tuvan: алдын (aldın)
        • Tofa: аълтан
      • Yeniseian Turkic:
        • Khakas: алтын (altın)
        • Shor: алтын (altın)

See also

Minerals in Proto-Turkic
Stone	stone: *tāĺ	Iron	iron: *temür	Silver	silver: *kümüĺ
Gold	gold: *altūn	Strawberry	copper: *bakïr	Chalk	chalk or earth: *bōr
Coal	coal: *kömür	Salt	salt: *tūŕ	Lead	lead: *korguĺčïn

References

• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “altuːn”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 131
• Tokat, Feyza (2014) “On the Common Words in Mongolian and the Turkish Dialects in Turkey”, in The Journal of International Social Research (Uluslararası Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi)‎^[1], volume 7, number 32, →ISSN, pages 185-198.
• Nugteren, Hans (2011) Mongolic phonology and the Qinghai-Gansu languages (dissertation)‎^[2], Utrecht: LOT