Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/yabaĺč

Proto-Turkic

Reconstruction Notes

There is no consensus on the identity of the final sibilant sound for the Proto-Turkic stage. Reconstruction with the postulated palatalized alveolar coda ( *ĺ ) is unfounded, with no Oghur descendants to support it.

Alternative Reconstructions

• *yabaĺ (per EDAL)
• *yabaš (per Räsänen)

Etymology

Unknown. Probably a deverbal from the unattested verb *yaba- (“to calm down (?)”), further etymology cannot be satisfactorily established.

Räsänen, Vasmer and Nemeth suggest that the ethnonym for Chuvash people (čăwaš) is borrowed or inherited from *yabaš (“calm, peaceful”), via intermediaries. Proto-Mongolic *namukan is given as a cognate by Räsänen (cf. Mongolian намхан (namxan, “gentle, peaceful”))

Altaicists compare their reconstructed form *yabaĺ with Khalkha Mongolian зөөлөн (zöölön, “soft, weak”) (cf. Written Mongolian ᠵᠣ᠊᠊ᠢ᠊ᠭᠡ᠊ᠯ‍ᠠ‍᠊ᠨ (ʒögelen)) and Japanese 柔ら (yawara, “something soft, fragile, gentle”) (cf. Japanese 柔柔 (yawayawa, “soft, supple”), reduplication of *yawa). Despite semantic and phonological similarities, Altaic comparisons are severely criticized by mainstream historical linguistics.

Adjective

*yabaĺč

1. peaceful, quiet, calm, mild (Common Turkic)

   Synonyms: *akuru(n), *amul (~ -ïl), *enč, *tölen

2. slow (Oghuz Turkic)

   Synonym: *akuru(n)

3. soft (Karakhanid, Siberian Turkic)

   Synonyms: *yïmĺčak, *gebešek

Descendants

• Common Turkic: *yabaš
  • →⇒? Proto-Mongolic: *namukan (“peaceful, gentle”) (from the hypothetical *yaba-kan (“id.”))
    • Mongolian: намхан (namxan, “peaceful, gentle”)
• Oghuz:
  • Old Anatolian Turkish:
    • Azerbaijani: yavaş
      • → Persian: یواش (yavâš)
        • → Khalaj: yəvâş
    • Ottoman Turkish: یواش (yavaş, “patient, mild, peaceable”)
      • Turkish: yavaş
      • Gagauz: yavaş
  • East Oghuz:
    • Turkmen: ýuwaş
• Karluk:
  • Karakhanid: [script needed] (yawaš)
    • Chagatai: [script needed] (yawaš)
      • Uyghur: [script needed] (yuwaš) (dialectal)
      • Uzbek: yuvosh
  • ⇒ Karakhanid: [script needed] (yawa kiši, “a person who is timid, mild, tractable, and peaceable; docile (of animals)”)
  • ⇒ Karakhanid: [script needed] (yawa yḗr, “warm, cozy place”)
• Kipchak:
  • Kipchak: iavas (yawa:š, “docile and obsequious (of animals)”)
  • Kipchak-Bulgar:
    • Bashkir: йыуаш (yıwaş)
    • Middle Tatar: *ʒovaš ("peaceful, hospitable")
      • →? Chuvash: чӑваш (čăvaš, “Chuvash”)
        • → Eastern Mari: суас (suas, “Tatar”)
        • → Tatar: чуаш (çuwaş, “Chuvash”)
          • Russian: чува́ша (čuváša, “unkempt man”) (dialectal)
      • Tatar: юаш (yuaş), юваш (yuwaş)
  • Kipchak-Cuman:
    • Crimean Tatar:
    • Krymchak: йуваш
    • Karachay-Balkar: джууаш (cuuaş)
    • Kumyk: яваш (yawaş), юваш (yuwaş)
    • Karaim: йуваш
    • Urum: йываш
  • South Kipchak:
    • Kipchak-Nogai:
      • Kazakh: жуас (juas)
      • Nogai: ювас (yuvas)
  • Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
    • Kyrgyz: жоош (jooş)
    • Southern Altai: јобош (ǰoboš)
• Siberian Turkic:
  • North Siberian Turkic:
    • Earlier Yakut: *samā- ("calm, pleasant, easy-going")
      • ⇒? Yakut: самаан (samaan, “favourable summer, warm weather”)
  • South Siberian Turkic:
    • Old Uyghur: yʾpʾs (yabaš)
    • ⇒? Old Uyghur: yʾp yʾp (yap-yap, “timidly”)
    • Khakas: чабас (çabas)
    • Northern Altai: дьобоош (dʹobooš), чобош (čoboš)
    • Shor: чобаш (čobaš)
    • Tuvan: чааш (çaaş)
    • Tofa: чааш (čāš)

References

• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “yavaş (yava:ş)”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 880
• Räsänen, Martti (1969) “jabaš, yawaš”, in Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, page 175
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*jabaĺ”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill