Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bẹńi

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

Alternative forms

*beńi (per Räsänen)
*beyŋi (per EDAL)

Etymology

A root with puzzling reflexes, according to Clauson. Räsänen compares this reconstruction with Old Uyghur 𐽹𐽰𐽺𐽷𐽶 (meŋi, “happiness, entertainment”) and proposes a relation with Hungarian fej, fő, Finnish pää (both inherited from Proto-Uralic *päŋe) and Mongolian хэки (xeki). Eren (1999)^[1], however, calls this comparison into doubt.

Altaicists, on the other hand, reconstruct this proto-form as *beyŋi, which is then compared to Mongolian манлай (manlaj, “forehead”) and Japanese 耳 (mimi, “ear”). However, such comparisons across 'Altaic languages' do not enjoy acceptance by the mainstream historical linguistics, for the reason that 'cognates' are actually look-alikes and semantic overfittings for the purpose of forging etymologies.

Noun

*bẹńi

(anatomy) brain

Descendants

Oghur:
- Chuvash: миме (mime)
Common Turkic:
- → Middle Mongol: (miyi)

Arghu: *men
- Khalaj: (mẹi̯n)
Oghuz: *beyni
- Old Anatolian Turkish: (beyni)
  - Azerbaijani: beyin
  - Ottoman Turkish: بینی (beyni)
    - Turkish: beyin
- >? Salar: beynianqan (“stupid”)
- Turkmen: beýni
Karluk:
- Karakhanid: مَنِكٖي (meŋi)^[2]
  - Chagatai: (meyin)
    - Uyghur: مىڭە (mi'nge)
    - Uzbek: miya
Kipchak: *meyi
- North Kipchak:
  - Bashkir: мейе (meye)
  - Tatar: ми (mi)
- West Kipchak:
  - Crimean Tatar: miy
  - Karachay-Balkar: мыйы (mıyı)
  - Karaim: мий
  - Kumyk: мий (miy)
- South Kipchak:
  - Caspian:
    - Karakalpak: мий (miy)
    - Kazakh: ми (mi)
    - Nogai: мый (mıy)
  - Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
    - Kyrgyz: мээ (mee)
    - Southern Altai: мее (mee)
Siberian Turkic:
- Old Uyghur: 𐽹𐽶𐽺𐽷𐽶 (méŋi)
  - Western Yugur: muñe, məñe
- North Siberian Turkic:
  - Dolgan: мэҥии (meńii)
  - Yakut: мэйии (meyii)
- South Siberian Turkic:
  - Khakas: мии (mii)
  - Shor: миис (miis)
  - Northern Altai: ме (me), мее (mee), меес (mees)
  - Sayan Turkic:
    - Tofa: мәә (mää)
    - Tuvan: мээ (mee)

References

^ Eren, Hasan (1999) “Proto-Turkic/bẹńi”, in Türk Dilinin Etimolojik Sözlüğü [Etymological Dictionary of the Turkish Language] (in Turkish), Ankara: Bizim Büro Basım Evi, page 49
^ al-Kashgarî, Mahmud (1072–1074) Besim Atalay, transl., Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Tercümesi [Translation of the “Compendium of the languages of the Turks”] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 521) (in Turkish), 1985 edition, volume II, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurmu Basımevi, published 1939–1943, page 299

Clauson, Gerard (1972) “”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 348
Räsänen, Martti (1969) Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, pages 70, 334
Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎, Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

[1] Eren, Hasan (1999) “Proto-Turkic/bẹńi”, in Türk Dilinin Etimolojik Sözlüğü [Etymological Dictionary of the Turkish Language] (in Turkish), Ankara: Bizim Büro Basım Evi, page 49

[2] -Kashgarî, Mahmud (1072–1074) Besim Atalay, transl., Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Tercümesi [Translation of the “Compendium of the languages of the Turks”] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 521) (in Turkish), 1985 edition, volume II, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurmu Basımevi, published 1939–1943, page 299

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