աղտ

From Old Armenian աղտ (ałt).

• (Eastern Armenian) IPA^(key): /ɑχt/,
• (Western Armenian) IPA^(key): /ɑʁd/,

• Audio (Eastern Armenian):

  (file)

• Homophone: ախտ (axt)

աղտ • (aġt)

1. dirt, filth, uncleanliness

• եղտ (eġt) — dialectal

The origin is uncertain.

Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *Hl̥-d- and cognate with Old Norse úldna (“to decay, rot”), Old High German oltar and Latin alga.

Alternatively, from Proto-Indo-European *sal- (“dirty, grey”) with cognates in Old Irish sal (“dirt, filth”), Old High German salo (“dirty”). See also աղօտ (ałōt).

Ačaṙean derives from Proto-Indo-European *ard-, with Ancient Greek ἄρδα (árda, “dirt”) as the only cognate. For the irregular sound change (*արտ (*art) is expected) he points to նեղ (neł), which has been compared to Old English nearu.^[1][2]

There is an alternative form աղծ- (ałc-) found in compounds.

աղտ • (ałt)

1. dirt, filth, uncleanliness (also of soul)
2. afterbirth

• Armenian: աղտ (aġt)

• Petrosean, Matatʻeay (1879) “աղտ”, in Nor Baṙagirkʻ Hay-Angliarēn [New Dictionary Armenian–English], Venice: S. Lazarus Armenian Academy
• Awetikʻean, G., Siwrmēlean, X., Awgerean, M. (1836–1837) “աղտ”, in Nor baṙgirkʻ haykazean lezui [New Dictionary of the Armenian Language] (in Old Armenian), Venice: S. Lazarus Armenian Academy
• Martirosyan, Hrach (2010) “aɫt”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 39f

The basic meaning is “salt deposits, salt mines, salty place”, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂ld-, enlarged from *seh₂l- (“salt”). The closest cognate is Proto-Germanic *saltą.

There is an alternative form աղծ- (ałc-) found in աղծեալ (ałceal).

աղտ • (ałt)

1. salt

   ծով աղտից ― cov ałticʻ ― salt-marsh

2. salt mine

Attested only in the plural.

• աղտաղտ (ałtałt)
• աղտաղտին (ałtałtin)
• աղտաղտուկ (ałtałtuk)

• → Old Georgian: ალდატი (aldaṭi)
  • Georgian: ალდატი (aldaṭi), აღდაჭი (aɣdač̣i)

• Ačaṙyan, Hračʻya (1940) Hayocʻ lezvi patmutʻyun [History of the Armenian Language] (in Armenian), volume I, Yerevan: University Press, page 34
• Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1971–1979) “աղտ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, Yerevan: University Press
• Awetikʻean, G., Siwrmēlean, X., Awgerean, M. (1836–1837) “աղտ”, in Nor baṙgirkʻ haykazean lezui [New Dictionary of the Armenian Language] (in Old Armenian), Venice: S. Lazarus Armenian Academy
• Martirosyan, Hrach (2010) “aɫt”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 40f
• Petrosean, Matatʻeay (1879) “աղտ”, in Nor Baṙagirkʻ Hay-Angliarēn [New Dictionary Armenian–English], Venice: S. Lazarus Armenian Academy