Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bēg

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

Etymology

There are different theories about the further etymology of the word.

According to one theory the word may ultimately come from Middle Chinese 百 (MC paek, “hundred”),^[1] 佰 (MC paek, “the head of a hundred men”),^[2] or 伯 (MC paek, “eldest brother, father's older brother > count”) ~ 霸 (MC paek, “hegemon”).
Another theory states that the word may have its origins in Middle Iranian,^[3] specifically Sogdian (baga, “lord, master”) or Old Persian 𐏎 (BG, “god”), all from Proto-Iranian *bagáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰagás (“god”, literally “dispenser”).^[4]

However, German Turkologist Gerhard Doerfer assessed the derivation from an Iranian language as quite uncertain and pointed out that the word may be genuinely Turkic.^[5]^[6]

Noun

*bēg

lord

Derived terms

*bēgen-

Descendants

Common Turkic:
- Proto-Oghuz:
  - West Oghuz:
    - Old Anatolian Turkish:
      Azerbaijani: bəy
      
      Ottoman Turkish: بك (bey), պէն (ben), պէնք (benk) — Armeno-Turkish
      Turkish: bey
      → Albanian: bej
      → Arabic: بِيه (bīh), بَاي (bāy), بِك (bik)
      → Armenian: բեկ (bek)
      → Bulgarian: бей (bej)
      → Dutch: bei, beg
      → English: bey
      → Finnish: bey
      → French: bey
      → Georgian: ბაი (bai), ბეგი (begi)
      → German: Bey
      → Greek: μπέης (béis), βέης (véis)
      → Hungarian: bey, bég
      → Latin: begus
      → Macedonian: бег (beg)
      → Portuguese: bei
      → Romanian: bei
      → Russian: бек (bek), бей (bej)
      → Serbo-Croatian: beg / бег
      → Spanish: bey
  - East Oghuz:
    - Turkmen: beg
- Karluk:
  - Karakhanid: باك
    - Khorezmian Turkic:
      Chagatai:
      Uzbek: bek
      
      Uyghur: بەگ (beg)
- Kipchak:
  - Kipchak:
    - North Kipchak:
      Bashkir: бей (bey)
      
      Tatar: бәк (bäk)
    - West Kipchak:
      Crimean Tatar:
      
      Karachay-Balkar:
      
      Kumyk:
      
      Urum:
    - South Kipchak:
      Kazakh:
      
      Karakalpak:
      
      Nogai:
    - East Kipchak:
      Kyrgyz: бек (bek)
      
      Southern Altai: бек (bek)
- Old Turkic: 𐰋𐰏 (beg)
- → Classical Persian: بیگ (bēg)
  - Iranian Persian: بیگ (beyg)
  - → Arabic: بيك (bēg)
  - → Bengali: বেগ (beg)
  - → Punjabi: بیگ (beg)
  - → Sindhi: بيگُ
  - → Urdu: بیگ (beg)

References

Clauson, Gerard (1972) “be:g”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 322

^ “bey.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc.‎, 2008 March 22 (last accessed)
^ Clauson, Gerard (1972) “be:g”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 322
^ Jamshid Ibrahim. Kulturgeschichtliche Wortforschung: persisches Lehngut in europäischen Sprachen. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1991, p. 58.
^ Carter Vaughn Findley, Turks in World History, Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 45: "... Many elements of Non-Turkic origin also became part of Türk statecraft for example, as in the case of khatun and beg both terms being of Sogdian origin and ever since in common use in Turkish. ..."
^ “Baga”, in Encyclopædia Iranica, 2011 August 22 (last accessed)
^ “Beg”, in Encyclopædia Iranica, 2011 May 7 (last accessed)

[1] “bey.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc.‎, 2008 March 22 (last accessed)

[2] Clauson, Gerard (1972) “be:g”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 322

[3] Jamshid Ibrahim. Kulturgeschichtliche Wortforschung: persisches Lehngut in europäischen Sprachen. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1991, p. 58.

[4] Carter Vaughn Findley, Turks in World History, Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 45: "... Many elements of Non-Turkic origin also became part of Türk statecraft for example, as in the case of khatun and beg both terms being of Sogdian origin and ever since in common use in Turkish. ..."

[5] “Baga”, in Encyclopædia Iranica, 2011 August 22 (last accessed)

[6] “Beg”, in Encyclopædia Iranica, 2011 May 7 (last accessed)

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[2]

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[5]

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Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bēg

Contents

Proto-Turkic

Etymology

Noun

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Wikious

Boobota

Sagapedia