Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/teŋri

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 reconstructions

• *taŋrï

Reconstruction notes

Some descendants, like Chuvash and Oghuz languages, point to a possible back vowel variant, *taŋrï, instead.

Etymology

The Old Chinese transcription 撐黎/撐犁 (ṭhāŋ-rə̄j) of the Xiongnu word 'sky' has been identified to have been borrowed Proto-Turkic *teŋri.

Origin of this term is unclear. Vovin (2003) has suggested a Yeniseian origin, from would-be Proto-Yeniseian *tɨŋgɨr- (“high”) (or *thɨŋ(g)ǝl).

Noun

*teŋri

1. sky
2. Sky deity; Tengri

Declension

Declension of *teŋri

	Singular 3)
Nominative	*teŋri
Accusative	*teŋrig, *teŋrini1)
Genitive	*teŋriniŋ
Dative	*teŋrike
Locative	*teŋride
Ablative	*teŋriden
Allative	*teŋrigerü
Instrumental 2)	*teŋrin
Equative 2)	*teŋriče
Similative 2)	*teŋrileyü
Comitative 2)	*teŋriligü

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:
  • Volga Bulgar:
    • Chuvash: турӑ (tură)
  • Danube Bulgar: ταγγρα (taggra)
  • → Bulgar: [script needed] (Tangra, “historical name of Mount Musala in Bulgaria; named such by Bulgars during Asparukh rule”)
    • Bulgarian: Тангра (Tangra)
• Common Turkic: *teŋri, *taŋrï
  • → Proto-Mongolic: *teŋgeri
    • Middle Mongol: ᠲᠩᠷᠢ (tngri)
      • Classical Mongolian: ᠲᠩᠷᠢ (tngri)
        • Mongolian: тэнгэр (tenger)

• Proto-Oghuz: *daŋrï
  • Old Anatolian Turkish:
    • Ottoman Turkish: تكری, تڭری, طاڭری, طاكری
      • Turkish: tanrı
      • → Gagauz: tanrı
      • → Laz: თანგრი (tangri), ტანგრი (ťangri), თრანგი (trangi), თანრი (tanri)
    • Azerbaijani: tanrı
  • Salar: danru
  • Turkmen: taňry
• Karluk:
  • Karakhanid: تَنْكْرٖى
    • Chagatai: تینگری
    • Uzbek: tangri
    • Uyghur: تەڭرى (tengri)
• Kipchak:
  • Kipchak: tengeri (Codex Cumanicus)
  • Khorezmian Turkic: تنکری (täñri)
  • North Kipchak:
    • Bashkir: тәңре (təñre)
    • Tatar: тәңре (täñre)
  • West Kipchak:
    • Kumyk: тенгири (teñiri)
    • Karachay-Balkar: тейри (teyri)
    • Crimean Tatar: tañrı
  • East Kipchak:
    • Southern Altai: теҥери (teŋeri)
    • Kyrgyz: теңир (teŋir)
  • South Kipchak:
    • Karakalpak: тәңир
    • Kazakh: тәңір (täñır)
    • Nogai: таьнъир (täñir)
• Siberian:
  • Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃 (t²ŋr²i)
  • Old Uyghur: 𐾀𐽺𐽷𐽾𐽶 (tnkry), 騰克力 (*dəŋ kʰək̚ lɨk̚ /⁠teŋ[k]li⁠/), 𐫎𐫗𐫐𐫡𐫏 (tnkry /⁠teŋri⁠/), ܬܝܓܪܝ (tygry /⁠téŋri⁠/)
    • → Classical Mongolian: ᠲᠩᠷᠢ (tngri) (Orthographic borrowing)
    • Western Yugur: deŋər (tiŋïr, “sky, Heavens, weather”)
    • North Siberian:
      • Yakut: таҥара (tañara)
    • South Siberian:
      • Yenisei:
        • Khakas: тигiр (tigir)
        • Shor: тегри (tegri)
      • Sayan:
        • Tuvan: дээр (deer)
        • Tofa: дээрі
      • Northern Altai: тегре (tegre)

References

• Doerfer, Gerhard (1965) Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen [Turkic and Mongolian Elements in New Persian] (Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur: Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission; 19)‎^[3] (in German), volume II, Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, page 577
• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pages 523-524
• Räsänen, Martti (1969) Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, page 474
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*teŋri”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[4], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill