ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BASHKIR LEXEME UҠ ‘ARROW’

Abstract

The article examines the origin of the Bashkir lexeme уҡ ‘arrow’. As a result of the analysis of etymological dictionaries, it is revealed that the lexeme уҡ is an heir to the Nostratic lexeme Hoḳi ‘sharp’, which gives rise to many related lexemes in Eurasian languages (Indo-European, Altaic, Uralic, Kartvelian, Dravidian). The origin of the original lexeme Hoḳi dates back to before 25 thousand BC. The original meaning of the lexeme Hoḳi was ‘sharp’. The meaning of the original Nostratic lexeme Hoḳi was transferred to the name of an arrow by identity of function after the bow and arrow were invented (Mesolithic era, approximately 10,000-7000 BC). The lexeme has two important characteristics: stability of the semantic core and ambiguity. This indicates a high degree of linguocognitive significance of the lexeme. The novelty of this study lies in the identification of connections between the Bashkir lexeme уҡ, firstly, with the original Nostratic lexeme Hoḳi, and secondly, with Indo-European, Dravidian, Kartvelian and Uralic languages.