Illyrian languages
Relation to Albanian[edit]
From 1705 to 2004, over 60 different scholars have claimed that the modern Albanian language is descended from Illyrian.[SUP][21][/SUP][SUP][22][/SUP] However, the Illyrian data, consisting mainly of hydronyms, toponyms, and personal names (some of them disputed by one scholar)[SUP][23][/SUP][SUP][need quotation to verify][/SUP] and appearing in no inscriptions,[SUP][24][/SUP] may not be sufficient to sustain any clear identification of linguistic affinities.[SUP][25]
[/SUP]
Cognates with Albanian[edit]
See also: Albanian language
- Andena/Andes/Andio/Antis - personal Illyrian names based on a root and- or ant-, found in both the southern and the Dalmatian-Pannonian (including modern Bosnia and Herzegovina) onomastic provinces; cf. Alb. andë (northern Albanian dialect, or Gheg) and ëndë (southern Albanian dialect or Tosk) "appetite, pleasure, desire, wish".[SUP][26][/SUP]
- aran "field"; cf. Alb. arë; plural ara[SUP][27][/SUP]
- Ardiaioi/Ardiaei, name of an Illyrian people, cf. Alb. ardhja "arrival" or "descent", connected to hardhi "vine-branch, grape-vine", with a sense development similar to Germanic *stamniz, meaning both tree stalk and tribe, lineage. However, the insufficiency of this theory is that so far there is no certainty as to the historical or etymological development of either ardhja/hardhi or Ardiaioi, as with many other words.[SUP][26][/SUP]
- Bindo/Bindus, an Illyrian deity from Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina; cf. Alb. bind "to convince" or "to make believe", përbindësh "monster".[SUP][28][/SUP]
- Bilia "daughter"; cf. Alb. bijë, dial. bilë[SUP][29][/SUP]
- bounon, "hutt, cottage"; cf. Alb bun[SUP][30][/SUP]
- Barba- "swamp", a toponym from Metubarbis; possibly related to Alb. bërrakë "swampy soil"[SUP][31][/SUP]
- can- "dog"; related to Alb. qen[SUP][31][/SUP]
- Daesitiates, a name of an Illyrian people, cf. Alb. dash "ram", corresponding contextually with south Slavonic dasa "ace", which might represent a borrowing and adaptation from Illyrian (or some other ancient language).[SUP][26][/SUP]
- mal "mountain"; cf. Alb. mal[SUP][32][/SUP]
- bardi "white"; cf. Alb. bardhë[SUP][33][/SUP]
- drenis "deer"; cf. Alb. dre, dreni[SUP][34][/SUP]
- delme "sheep"; cf. Alb. dele, Gheg dialect delme[SUP][35][/SUP]
- dard "Dardania"; ostensibly connected with cf. Alb. dardhë, "pear"[SUP][36][/SUP]
- drakoina "supper"; cf. Alb. darke, dreke[SUP][37][/SUP]
- Hyllus (the name of an Illyrian king); cf. Alb. yll (hyll in some northern dialects) "star", also Alb. hyj "god"[SUP][37][/SUP]
- sīca "dagger"; cf. Alb. thikë or thika "knife"[SUP][38][/SUP]
- Ulc- "wolf" (pln. Ulcinium); cf. Alb. ujk "wolf", ulk(Northern Dialect)[SUP][39][/SUP]
- brisa "husk of grapes"; cf. Alb. bërsí "lees, dregs; mash" (< PA *brutiā)[SUP][31][/SUP]
- loúgeon "pool"; cf. Alb. lag, legen "to wet, soak, bathe, wash" (< PA *lauga), lëgatë "pool" (< PA *leugatâ), lakshte "dew" (< PA laugista)[SUP][40][/SUP]
- mag- "great"; cf. Alb. i madh "big , great"[SUP][31][/SUP]
- mantía "bramblebush"; Old and dial. Alb. mandë "berry, mulberry" (Mod. Alb. mën, man)[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
- Ragusa-Ragusium "grape"; cf. Proto-Alb. ragusha (Mod. Alb. rrush)[SUP][37][/SUP]
- rhinos "fog, mist"; cf. Old Alb. ren "cloud" (Mod. Alb. re, rê) (< PA *rina)[SUP][41][/SUP]
- Vendum "place"; cf. Proto-Alb. wen-ta (Mod. Alb. vend)[SUP][37][/SUP]
Only a few Illyrian words are cited in classical sources by Roman or Greek writers, and of these only four are identified with an ethnonym Illyrii or Illurioí; others must be identified by indirect means[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]:
[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"][/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]
attestation[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]
English meaning[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]
etymology[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]
cognates[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*abeis[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]"snakes"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *
h₂engʷʰis[/TD]
[TD]Lat.
anguis, Alb.
thnegël (< PA ts-angulā) "kind of ant", Old High Germ.
unc, Lith.
angìs, Gk.
ókhis"snake",
ekhis "viper", Toch.
auk "snake", Arm.
auj, Russ.
už, Skt.
áhis, Av.
aži[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*bagaron[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]"warm"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *
bʰōg-[/TD]
[TD]Alb.
bukë "bread", Phrygian
bekos "bread", Eng.
bake, Lat.
focus "hearth", Old Ir.
goba "blacksmith", Gk.
phōgein "to roast", Armenian
bosor "red",
bots "flame", Rus.
bagrovɨj, bagrianɨj "crimson, saturated red, color of dark blood, purpur",
bagriéc, bagrianiec "redness of someone's face, cheeks, of heated up material (e.g. metal), crimson cloth, fabric"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*brisa[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]"husk of grapes"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *
bʰruti̯eh₂[/TD]
[TD]Alb.
bërsí "lees, dregs; mash", Eng.
broth, Lat.
defrutum "new wine boiled down", Welsh
brwd"brewage", Old Ir.
bruth "heat, wrath", Thrac.
brỹtos "barley alcohol",
brỹtion "wine must", Gk.
apéphrysen "to seethe, boil", ? Lith.
bręsti "to mature, ripe",
brendimas "ripening", also
brinkti "to swell",
brinkìmas "swelling" ?, Rus.
braga, bražka "must, ale, unfinished or badly produced alcohol drink",
broditj "to ferment (brew)",
brožénije "fermentation (brewage)"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*deuádai[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]"satyrs"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *
dʰu̯ésmi[/TD]
[TD]Alb.
dash "ram", Skt.
dhūnoti "he shakes", Gk.
thýein "to rage, seethe",
théeion "sulfur vapor", Eng.
dizzy, Paeonian
Dýalos "Dionysos", Lat.
furere "to rage",
belua "wild animal", Old Ir.
dásacht "rage, fury", Lith.
dvėsti "to croak, perish, die (animals)",
dvelksmas "breath, waft, aura", Hitt.
tuhhai "to gasp", Rus.
dɨhánije "breath, waft",
duh "spirit, soul, mind, aura, ghost, wind" also "aliveness, breathing, willingness, meaningfulness, truthfulness",
dušá "spirit, soul; heart, kindness, truthfulness"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*mandos[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]"small horse"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *
mendi̯os[/TD]
[TD]Alb.
mëz, mâz "pony", Thrac.
Mezēnai "divine horseman", Mess. Iuppiter
Menzanas (divinity)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*mantía[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]"bramblebush"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *?[/TD]
[TD]NGheg Alb.
mandë, Alb.
mën, man "berry, mulberry"; borrowed into Romansch
mani "raspberry"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*rinos[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]"fog, mist"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *
h₁rinéHti[/TD]
[TD]Old Alb.
ren, mod. Alb.
re, rê "cloud",
rij, rî 'to make humid'; further to Gk. (Lesbian)
orínein "to move", Old Ch. Slav.
rinǫti "to flow", Skt.
riṇá-ti "to pour, let flow"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*sabaia,
*sabaium,
*sabaius[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]"a type of
beer"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *
sap-[/TD]
[TD]Eng.
sap, Lat.
sapere "to taste", Skt.
sabar "sap, juice, nektar", Avestan
višāpa "having poisonous juices", Arm
ham, Gk.
hapalós "tender, delicate", Old Ch. Slav.
sveptŭ "bee's honey"; borrowed into Lat. and from there into Ital.
zabaglione "frothy drink"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*sibina (Lat.
sibyna~
sybina); σιβυνη (Gk.), σιβυνης (Gk.), συβινη (Gk.), ζιβυνη (Gk.)[/TD]
[TD]Festius, citing
Ennius is compared to
συβηνη (Gk.), "flute case", a word found in
Aristophanes'
Thesmophoriazusai; the word appears in the context of a barbarian speaking[/TD]
[TD]"a hunting spear", generally, "a spear", "
pike"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *[/TD]
[TD]Alb.
thupër "bar, stick",[SUP]
[51][/SUP] Pers.
zôpîn, Arm.
səvīn "a spit"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
*sika (Lat.
sica ~
sicca)[/TD]
[TD]First mentioned in
Ennius (
Annals, 5.540):[SUP]
[52][/SUP]
Illyrii restant sicis sybinisque fodentes, of Illyrian soldiers;[SUP]
[53][/SUP] later used in
Pliny to describe Thracian implements[/TD]
[TD]"curved knife, dagger"[/TD]
[TD]PIE *
ḱeh₁kʷeh₂[/TD]
[TD]Alb.
thikë 'knife',[SUP]
[54][/SUP] Old Ir.
cath "wise", Lat.
cōs, (gen.
cōtis) "whetstone",
catus "sharp, acute", Eng.
hone, Arm.
sur "sharp",
srem "to sharpen", Avest.
saēni "pot",
sal "slab, anvil", Skt.
śitá "sharp"; borrowed into Lat.
sicca "dagger", Lat.
sicarii "assassins", Rus.
siečiénije "cut, section; cross-section",
siečj, rassiekatj "to whip, flog; to cut, shred, split, sever"[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Some additional words have been extracted by linguists from toponyms, hydronyms, anthroponyms, etc.:
- Agruvium "along the coast between Risinum and Butua": IE *aĝr-; cf. Skt. ájraḥ "pasture, field", Lat. ager, Gk. agrós, Goth. akrs
- Bindus "river god"; cf. Alb. bind ‘to convince, to make believe’, përbindësh "monster", cf. Old Ir. banne "drop", Skt. bindú, vindú "drops, gob, spot", possibly Lat. fōns Bandusiae
- Bosona "Bosna river", literally "running water": IE *bheg-, bhog- "to run"; Alb. dë-boj "to chase, to drive away", North. Alb. bosi "doer, maker", Rus. bĕg "running; (work)flow", cf. Old Ch. Slav. bĕžati & Rus. bĕžatj "to flee, run; to work, to flow", Lith. bėgti "to flee, to run", Gk. phébesthai "to flee", phóbos "fear", Eng. beck "brook, stream", Middle Ir. búal "flowing water", Hindi bhāg "to flee"
- mons Bulsinus "Büžanim hill": IE *bʰl̥kos; cf. Eng. balk, Alb. bligë "forked piece of wood", Middle Ir. blog "piece, fragment", Lat. fulcrum "bedpost", Gk. phálanx "trunk, log", Lith. balžiena"crossbar", Serb. blazína "roof beam", Skt. bhuríjāu "cart arms"
- Derbanoí, Anderva: IE *derw; cf. Eng. tree, Alb. dru "wood", Old Ch. Slav. drĕvo "tree", Rus. dérevo "tree, wood", Welsh derw "oak", Gk. dóry "wood, spear", drýs "oak, tree", Lith. derva "pine wood", Hitt. taru "tree, wood', Thrac. taru "spear", Skt. dru "tree, wood", daru "wood, log"
- Dizēros, Andízētes: IE *digh; cf. Eng. dough, Gk. teîkhos "wall", Lat. fingere "to shape, mold", Old Ir. com-od-ding "he builds, erects", Old Rus. dĕža "kneading trough", Arm. dez "heap", Skt. dehah "body, form"
- Domator, personal name; cf. Old Ir. damnaid "he binds, breaks a horse", dam "ox", Eng. tame, dialectal Germ. zamer "ox not under the yoke", Alb. dem "young bull", Lat. domāre "to tame", domitor "tamer", Gk. dámnēmi "to break in", dámalos "calf", Skt. dāmyáti "he is tame; he tames", Rus. odomashnivat' "to tame"
- Loúgeon: Strabo in his Geography mentions "a marsh called Lougeon" (which has been identified as Lake Cerknica in Slovenia) by the locals (Illyrian and Celtic tribes), Lougeon being Strabo's rendition of the local toponym into Greek. cf. Alb. lag "to wet, soak, bathe, wash", lëgatë "pool", lug "trough, water-channel, spillway", Lith. liűgas "pool", Old Ch. Slav. & Rus. luža "pool", Rus. loža, lože, lógovo "rest place, lounge place, bed, den", Rus. ležátj "to lie, rest, lounge" and ložitj "to lay, put", Thrac. Lýginos, river name[SUP][55][/SUP]
- stagnus Morsianus "marshlands in Pannonia": IE *merĝ; cf. Middle High Germ. murc "rotten, withered, boggy", Old Ir. meirc "rust", Alb. marth "to shiver, shudder", Lith. markýti "to rust"
- Naro: IE *nor; cf. Alb. "hum-nerë" "abyss, chasm", Lith. nãras "diving duck; diver", Russ. norá "hole, burrow", Serbo-Croat. po-nor "abyss"
- Nedinum: IE *ned; cf. Skt. nadas "roarer"
- Oseriates "lakes": IE *h[SUB]1[/SUB]eĝʰero; cf. Serb-Croat. jȅzero, Rus. ózero, Lith. éžeras, Latvian ȩzȩrs, Gk. Achérōn "river in the underworld"
- Pelso (Latin authors referred to modern Lake Balaton as "lacus Pelso", Pelso being a hydronym from the local inhabitants), Pelso apparently meant "deep" or "shallow": IE *pels-; Rus. ples(deep place in lake or river), North Alb. fellë (from fell "deep"), cf. Czech pleso "deep place in a river, lake", Welsh bwlch "crack", Arm. pelem "to dig"
- Tergitio "merchant"; Alb. tregtar (from treg, market), cf. Old Ch. Slav. trĭgŭ (Serbo-Croat tȑg) "market", Rus. torg "bargain", Lith. tūrgus, Latv. tirgus, Swed. torg. This group is considered to be cognate with the Italian city name of Trieste.
- Teuta, Teutana: IE *teuta- "people"; cf. Lith. tauta "people", Germ. Deutsch "German", Old Eng. theod "people", Old Ir. túath "clan", Umbrian tota "people", Oscan touto "city", Hitt. tuzzi "army"; cf. Alb. (northern Albanian, or Gheg dialect) tetanë "all" (possible archaic Albanian synonym for "people").
- Ulcisus mons, Ulcinium (city), Ulcisia castra: cf. Eng. wolf, Old Alb. ulk, Alb. ujk, Avestan vəhrkō, Persian gurg, Skt. vṛkas, Old Ch. Slav. vlŭkŭ, Russ. volk, volčíca, Lith. vil̃kas, Lat. lupus, Gk. lýkos
- Volcos, river name in Pannonia; cf. Old Ir. folc "heavy rain, wet weather", Welsh golchi "to wash", obsolete Eng. welkin "cloud", Old High Germ. welk "moist", Old Ch. Slav. and Rus. vlaga"moisture, plant juice", Volga, river name in Russia, ? vŭlgŭkŭ "wet", Latv. val̃gums "wetness", Alb. ulmej "to dampen, wet"