Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/teŋri

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

Uncertain. Multiple theories have been posited over the years with no consensus. See Doerfer (1965) for more.

Most notably, Vovin has suggested a Proto-Yeniseian origin^[1], for which compare Ket тыӈаль (“high”), from Proto-Ketic *tʰɯŋgʌl (“high”)^[2]^[3].

More at Tengri.

Noun

*teŋri

sky
(religion) god

Declension

Declension of *teŋri
	singular ³⁾
nominative	*teŋri
accusative	teŋrig, teŋrini¹⁾
genitive	*teŋriniŋ
dative	*teŋrike
locative	*teŋride
ablative	*teŋriden
allative	*teŋrigerü
instrumental ²⁾	*teŋrin
equative ²⁾	*teŋriče
similative ²⁾	*teŋrileyü
comitative ²⁾	*teŋriligü

¹⁾ Originally used only in pronominal declension.
²⁾ The original instrumental, equative, similative, and comitative cases have fallen into disuse in many modern Turkic languages.
³⁾ Plurality in Proto-Turkic is disputed. See also the notes on the Proto-Turkic/Locative-ablative case and plurality page on Wikibooks.

Descendants

>? Xiongnu: 撐犁 (*rtʰaːŋ.riːl)^[4]
Oghur: *teŋri
- Late-Oghur: *teɣri
  - Proto-Bulgar: *tewri/*tawrï
    - Danube Bulgar: ταγγρα (taɣra)
    - Volga Bulgar: *täü̯ri
      - Middle Chuvash: *tåu̯ri
        Anatri Chuvash: турӑ (tură)
        
        Viryal Chuvash: торă (toră)
Proto-Common Turkic: *teŋri
- →? Proto-Mongolic: *taŋgarag (“oath”)
  - Middle Mongol: ᠲᠠᠩᠭᠠᠷᠢᠭ (tangɣarig)
    - Mongolian: тангараг (tangarag)
    - → Manchu: [script needed] (taŋgarik)

Oghuz:
- Old Anatolian Turkish: تكری (teŋri), تنكری (tengri, teŋri), تاكری (taŋrı)
  - Azerbaijani: tanrı
  - Gagauz: Tangrı
  - Ottoman Turkish: تكری (tañrı, teñri), طاكری
    - Turkish: tanrı
    - → Laz: თანგრი (tangri), ტანგრი (ťangri), თრანგი (trangi), თანრი (tanri)
  - → Crimean Tatar: tañrı
  - → Crimean Karaim: танри, танъры
  - → Krymchak: taŋrï
- Salar: danru
- Turkmen: taňry
Karluk:
- Karakhanid: تَنْكْرٖى (tankrī /⁠teŋri⁠/)
  - Khorezmian Turkic: تنکری (tnkry /⁠täŋri, teŋri⁠/)
    - Chagatai: تینگری (teŋri), تنکری (täŋri)
      - Uzbek: tangri
      - Uyghur: تەڭرى (tengri)
Kipchak:
- Kipchak-Bulgar:
  - Bashkir: тәңре (təñre)
  - Tatar: тәңре (täñre)
- Kipchak-Cuman:
  - Cuman: teꝯri, tengri
    - Mamluk-Kipchak: تنكري
    - Kumyk: тенгири (teñiri)
    - Karachay-Balkar: тейри (teyri)
    - Karaim: тэнъри, тэнри, тэндри
    - Krymchak: teŋri
- Kipchak-Nogai:
  - Karakalpak: тәңир
  - Kazakh: тәңір (täñır)
  - Nogai: таьнъир (täñir)
- Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
  - Southern Altai: теҥери (teŋeri)
  - Kyrgyz: теңир (teŋir)
Siberian Turkic:
- Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃 (t²ŋr²i /⁠täŋri⁠/)
- Old Uyghur: 𐾀𐽺𐽷𐽾𐽶 (tnkry /⁠täŋri⁠/)
  - Western Yugur: deŋər (tiŋïr, “sky, heavens, weather”)
  - → Classical Mongolian: ᠲᠩᠷᠢ (tngri)
    - Mongolian: тэнгэр (tenger)
- North Siberian Turkic:
  - Yakut: таҥара (tañara)
- South Siberian Turkic:
  - Yenisei:
    - Khakas: тигiр (tigir)
    - Shor: тегри (tegri)
  - Sayan:
    - Tuvan: дээр (deer)
    - Dukhan: [script needed] (teer)
    - Tofa: дээрі
  - Northern Altai: тегре (tegre), тенъери (tenʺyeri) (Kumandy-Kizhi)

References

^ Vovin, Alexander (2003) “Did the Xiongnu speak a Yeniseian language? Part 2: Vocabulary”, in Altaica Budapestinensia MMII: proceedings of the 45th Permanent International Altaistic Conference (PIAC), Budapest, Hungary, June 23-28, 2002‎^[1]
^ Werner, Heinrich (2002) “tɨŋal's'/tɨŋgal's'”, in Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Jenissej-Sprachen, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 309
^ Vajda, Edward, Werner, Heinrich (2022) “*tʰɯŋgʌl”, in Comparative-Historical Yeniseian Dictionary (Languages of the World/Dictionaries; 79, 80), Muenchen: LINCOM GmbH, →ISBN, page 934
^ Dybo, Anna (2014) “Early contacts of Turks and problems of Proto-Turkic reconstruction”, in Tatarica‎^[2], volume 2, page 8

Agyágasi, Klára (2019) Chuvash Historical Phonetics (Turcologica; 117), Wiesbaden: Harrssowitz, page 240
Clauson, Gerard (1972) “teŋri:”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 523-524
Doerfer, Gerhard (1965) “944. تنکری (tängrī)”, in Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen [Turkic and Mongolian Elements in New Persian] (Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur: Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission; 19)‎^[3] (in German), volume II, Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, pages 577-585
Räsänen, Martti (1969) Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachen (in German), Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, page 474
Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*teŋri”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎^[4], Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

[1] Vovin, Alexander (2003) “Did the Xiongnu speak a Yeniseian language? Part 2: Vocabulary”, in Altaica Budapestinensia MMII: proceedings of the 45th Permanent International Altaistic Conference (PIAC), Budapest, Hungary, June 23-28, 2002‎^[1]

[2] Werner, Heinrich (2002) “tɨŋal's'/tɨŋgal's'”, in Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Jenissej-Sprachen, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 309

[3] Vajda, Edward, Werner, Heinrich (2022) “*tʰɯŋgʌl”, in Comparative-Historical Yeniseian Dictionary (Languages of the World/Dictionaries; 79, 80), Muenchen: LINCOM GmbH, →ISBN, page 934

[4] Dybo, Anna (2014) “Early contacts of Turks and problems of Proto-Turkic reconstruction”, in Tatarica‎^[2], volume 2, page 8

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