Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bẹńi

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

Alternative forms

• *beńi (per Räsänen)
• *beyŋi (per EDAL)

Etymology

A root with puzzling reflexes, according to Clauson. Räsänen compares this reconstruction with Old Uyghur 𐽹𐽰𐽺𐽷𐽶 (meŋi, “happiness, entertainment”) and proposes a relation with Hungarian fej, fő, Finnish pää (both inherited from Proto-Uralic *päŋe) and Mongolian хэки (xeki). Eren (1999), however, calls this comparison into doubt.

Altaicists, on the other hand, reconstruct this proto-form as *beyŋi, which is then compared to Mongolian манлай (manlaj, “forehead”) and Japanese 耳 (mimi, “ear”). However, such comparisons across 'Altaic languages' do not enjoy acceptance by the mainstream historical linguistics, for the reason that 'cognates' are actually look-alikes and semantic overfittings for the purpose of forging etymologies.

Noun

*bẹńi

1. (anatomy) brain

Descendants

• Oghur:
  • Chuvash: миме (mime)
• Common Turkic:
  • → Middle Mongol: [script needed] (miyi)

• Arghu: *men
  • Khalaj: [script needed] (mẹi̯n)
• Oghuz: *beyni
  • Old Anatolian Turkish: [script needed] (beyni)
    • Azerbaijani: beyin
    • Ottoman Turkish: بینی (beyni)
      • Turkish: beyin
  • >? Salar: beynianqan (“stupid”)
  • Turkmen: beýni
• Karluk:
  • Karakhanid: مَنِكٖي (meŋi)
    • Chagatai: [script needed] (meyin)
      • Uyghur: مىڭە (mi'nge)
      • Uzbek: miya
• Kipchak: *meyi
  • North Kipchak:
    • Bashkir: мейе (meye)
    • Tatar: ми (mi)
  • West Kipchak:
    • Crimean Tatar: miy
    • Karachay-Balkar: мыйы (mıyı)
    • Karaim: мий
    • Kumyk: мий (miy)
  • South Kipchak:
    • Caspian:
      • Karakalpak: мий (miy)
      • Kazakh: ми (mi)
      • Nogai: мый (mıy)
    • Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
      • Kyrgyz: мээ (mee)
      • Southern Altai: мее (mee)
• Siberian Turkic:
  • Old Uyghur: 𐽹𐽶𐽺𐽷𐽶 (méŋi)
    • Western Yugur: muñe, məñe
  • North Siberian Turkic:
    • Dolgan: мэҥии (meńii)
    • Yakut: мэйии (meyii)
  • South Siberian Turkic:
    • Khakas: мии (mii)
    • Shor: миис (miis)
    • Northern Altai: ме (me), мее (mee), меес (mees)
    • Sayan Turkic:
      • Tofa: мәә (mää)
      • Tuvan: мээ (mee)

References

• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 348
• Räsänen, Martti (1969) Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, pages 70, 334
• 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