kauṃ
Tocharian B
Etymology
From Proto-Tocharian *kaun (whence Tocharian A koṃ), from there uncertain. Likely borrowed from a Turkic language (obviously into Proto-Tocharian), from Proto-Turkic *kün. Compare Crimean Tatar kün, Turkish gün, both meaning "sun" and "day" (Meilet 1914:19). While Windekens (1941) suggested a borrowing from Tocharian into Turkic, Pedersen (1944:11) was in favor of a necessarily opposite borrowing from Turkic into Tocharian. This was later acknowledged by Windekens (1976:627). This theory is also supported by combinations of the meanings "sun" and "day" being very unusual in the Indo-European languages.[1]
Winter suggests a connection with Ancient Greek καίω (kaíō, “to kindle, set on fire”), however this root is isolated in Indo-European and further unlikely compared to the evidence for the former theory.
Derived terms
- kauṃ-kläsko (“west”)
- kauṃ-parki (“sunrise”)
- kauṃ-pirko (“east”)
- kauṃ-yaptsi (“sunset”)
- kauṃ-yänmālle
- kauṃ-ñäkte (“sun, sun-god”)
- komt (“daily”)
- komtak (“today”)
References
- Werner Winter, Brigitte L. M. Bauer, Georges-Jean Pinault - "Language in Time and Space: A Festschrift for Werner Winter on the Occasion of His 80th Birthday. Volume144 - Trends in linguistics / Studies and monographs: Studies and monographs." 2003: 257-58 (PDF).
- Adams, Douglas Q. (2013) “kauṃ”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN