𐰚𐰢

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *kem (“who”). Cognate with Chuvash кам (kam), Khalaj kim, Turkish kim, Uzbek kim, Bashkir кем (kem), Yakut ким (kim). Compare also Mongolian хэн (xen).

𐰚𐰢 (kém)

1. who
   • 8th century CE, Kültegin Inscription, E22

     𐰇𐰔𐰀:𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃:𐰉𐰽𐰢𐰽𐰺:𐰽𐰺𐰀:𐰘𐰃𐰼:𐱅𐰠𐰤𐰢𐰾𐰼:𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣:𐰠𐰭𐰤:𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰇𐰭𐰤:𐰚𐰢:𐰺𐱃𐱃𐰃:𐰆𐰑𐰀𐰲𐰃

     üze:teŋri:basmasar:asra:yér:telinmeser:türük:bodun:éliŋin:törüŋün:kém:artatï:udačï

     If the sky above did not collapse and if the earth below did not give away, O Turkic people, who would be able to destroy your state and institutions?

• Tekin, Talât (1968) “käm”, in A Grammar of Orkhon Turkic (Uralic and Altaic Series; 69), Bloomington: Indiana University, →ISBN, pages 349-350
• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “kim”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 720
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*kem, *Ka-”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎, Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill