Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/ayran

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

Attested in every branch of Turkic except in Arghu and in Siberian languages (except Khakas, see below). No majority consensus on the origin, but probably from *adïr- +‎ *-gan.

• Róna-Tas and Berta suggest a derivation from Proto-Turkic *ayïr- (“to separate”) for the Oghur branch and its descendants, refusing any possible relation with the following:
  1. An intermediary *yaδaq/ŋ ("churned butter, butter leftover") by Ligeti (1960, 1986), a denominal reflex derived from Proto-Turkic *yād- (“to churn butter”) (whence Khalaj یاماق (yâmaq, “to churn butter”)). The same root would also be compared to the native name of the Ural river, (which in Proto-Turkic is *yāyïk (cf. Ancient Greek Δάϊξ (Dáïx), Δαΐχ (Daḯkh), Γεήχ (Geḗkh) and archaic Russian Яик (Jaik))) by Clauson (1972), also rejected by the authors.
  2. Proto-Turkic *ạguŕ (“colostrum, beestings”) (whence the hypothetical Middle Chuvash form *ïră ("an aciduous liquid remaining after butter has been separated from milk or cream")), proposed by Räsänen (1969) and Doerfer (1963, 1975).
  3. Proto-Turkic *ïrga- (“to rock, to pump, to move something from one side to another, to swing”), which is deemed as semantically unsatisfactory.
  4. Old Chinese 酪 (*ɡ·raːɡ) (and Middle Chinese 酪 (lɑk̚)) by Pulleybank (1962), who reconstructs this root as *agïrag and posited that this word is a Xiong-Nu word re-analyzed by Turkic and Mongolic speakers as *ayï- instead of *agï-.
  • Agyágasi (2019) demonstrates that historical Chuvash forms and loanwords at large support Róna-Tas's and Berta's etymology.
• Räsänen (1969), on a different entry than the one above, tentatively adopts the root term as Proto-Turkic *adïr- for all Turkic languages except Yakut аараһ (aarah) (which is borrowed from Mongolic *ayïrag). He also thinks that a relation between *ayran and Mongolic *ayïrag exists, but no direction of borrowing or a cognate relation is given by him.
• Yegorov (1964) follows the same argument, saying that Chuvash уйран (ujran, “buttermilk”) is related to Chuvash уйӑр (ujăr, “to separate, to split”).

• Clauson (1972) rejects any relation with Proto-Turkic *adïr- (“to separate”) on the basis of Karakhanid form, and posits that "...but it is very odd that such a sound change should have occurred in [Karakhanid language] and it is prob[ably] merely a false etymology."
• Nişanyan suggests that the drink in question is an Oghuz "Kulturwort", and therefore it spread to other languages via Oghuz Turks. This would explain the problematic -y- sound before -r- in Karakhanid and Khakas reflexes, where the expected reflexes from a genuine Proto-Turkic root would be *aδran and *aźran respectively.

• Altaicists, on the other hand, compare this word with Proto-Mongolic *ayïrag (“koumiss”) (thus Mongolian айраг (ajrag)), Ulch аяра- (“to take fat off butter while it is melting”) and Nanai аярахо (ajaraho, “spoon for taking fat off”), deriving the word from the "Proto-Altaic" noun **ăyVrV ("sour milk, fat melt") (EDAL's V stands for an undetermined vowel sound).

It should be noted that this word was first attested in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk (11th century), not found in any pre-Islamic texts.

Noun

*ayran

1. buttermilk, airan (doogh, tan)

Declension

Declension of *ayran

	Singular 3)
Nominative	*ayran
Accusative	*ayranïg, *ayrannï1)
Genitive	*ayrannïŋ
Dative	*ayranka
Locative	*ayranta
Ablative	*ayrantan
Allative	*ayrangaru
Instrumental 2)	*ayranïn
Equative 2)	*ayranča
Similative 2)	*ayranlayu
Comitative 2)	*ayranlïgu

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

Descendants

• Oghur: *ayraɣ
  • →? Proto-Mongolic: *ayïrag
    • Mongolian: айраг (ajrag, “koumiss”)
  • Old Chuvash: *ï̄raɣ
    • → Old Hungarian: yiro (i:ro:)
      • → Hungarian: író
    • Middle Chuvash: *yăra(n)
      • → Eastern Mari: йыра (jyra)
      • Chuvash: уйран (ujran)
        • → Russian: урень (urenʹ)

• Common Turkic: *ayran

• Proto-Oghuz: *ayran
  • West Oghuz:
    • Old Anatolian Turkish: [script needed] (ayran)
      • Azerbaijani: ayran

        Urmia: ayran

        Osku: eyran

      • Ottoman Turkish: آیران (ayran)
        • Gagauz: ayran
        • Turkish: ayran
        • → Arabic: عَيْرَان (ʕayrān)
        • → Bulgarian: айря́н (ajrján), айра́н (ajrán) — dated
        • → Greek: αριάνι (ariáni), αϊράν (aïrán)
        • → Laz: აჲრანი (ayrani)
        • → Polish: ajran
  • East Oghuz:
    • Turkmen: aýran
• Karluk:
  • Karakhanid: اَیْرانْ (ayran)
    • Khorezmian Turkic: [script needed] (ayran)
      • Chagatai: ایران (ayran)
        • Uzbek: oyron
        • Uyghur: ئايران (ayran)
• Kipchak:
  • →? Khakas: айран (ayran)
  • → Russian: айран (ajran)
    • → Yakut: айран (ayran)
  • Kipchak: ایران (ayran)
    • North Kipchak:
      • Bashkir: айран (ayran)
      • Tatar: әйрән (äyrän)
    • West Kipchak:
      • Crimean Tatar: ayran
      • Karachay-Balkar: айран (ayran)
      • Karaim: айран (ayran)
      • Kumyk: айран (ayran)
    • South Kipchak:
      • Caspian:
        • Kazakh: айран (airan)
        • Karakalpak: ayran
        • Nogai: айран (ayran)
      • Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
        • Kyrgyz: айран (ayran)
        • Southern Altai: айран (ayran)

References

• Agyágasi, Klára (2019) Chuvash Historical Phonetics (Turcologica; 117), Wiesbaden: Harrssowitz, pages 86, 130
• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “ayra:n”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 276
• Jegorov, V. G. (1964) “Proto-Turkic/ayran”, in Etimologičeskij slovarʹ čuvašskovo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Chuvash Language] (in Russian), Cheboksary: Čuvašskoje knižnoje izdatelʹstvo, page 270
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “Proto-Turkic/ayran”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Räsänen, Martti (1969) Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, page 12
• Róna-Tas, András, Berta, Árpád, Károly, László (2011) West Old Turkic: Turkic Loanwords in Hungarian (Turcologica; 84), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pages 464-470
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[1], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill
• Ünal, Orçun (2019). Klasik ve Orta Moğolca Söz Varlığında Türkçe Kökenli Kelimeler I (A–D). Journal of Old Turkic Studies, 3(2), 502-615.