On the etymology of the word tuturkan ‘rice’

Nuray Demir Öztürk

Makale detayları

On the etymology of the word tuturkan ‘rice’

Yazarlar:

Nuray Demir Öztürk

Yayıncı:

Hacettepe University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Türk Dili (Orhun | Uygur | Karahanlı)

Dergi:

Türkbilig Vol.2025 Issue 49, pp.588-599

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352166

pISSN:

1302-6011

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 Agricultural production holds great importance for human life. Among the products resulting from agricultural activities, rice stands out, being known by almost all societies and existing in many varieties. The question of when and where rice originated is a matter of debate; however, for Turks, as for other nations, rice is an important source of nutrition. The word for rice, in the form tuturkan, first appears among the Ancient Uyghurs, who cultivated agriculture from Central Asia onwards and considered rice a commodity for trade. This word, widely used in Old Uyghur texts, also found its place in Kashgaris Dīwān Lugāt at-Turk. Following Old Turkic, the word tuturkan for rice continues to be used in the linguistic heritage of Middle Turkic, including Khorezmian, Kipchak, and Chagatai Turkic. This term, absent in Old Anatolian Turkish, reappeared in a glossary written in 17th-century Ottoman literature. Today, the word tuturkan is used only in the Sari Uyghur dialect among contemporary Turkic languages. The aim of this study is to provide the etymology of the word tuturkan, which has been suggested to be borrowed from Mongolian in many previous studies. This study comprises six parts. Following the introduction, the first part examines the historical forms of the word tuturkan in Turkic languages; the second part explores the contemporary equivalents for rice in Turkic languages; and the third part reviews previous researchers opinions regarding the word tuturkan; the fourth part examines the etymological and semantic aspects of the word tuturkan, and the final part presents the researchs conclusions.

 Agricultural production holds great importance for human life. Among the products resulting from agricultural activities, rice stands out, being known by almost all societies and existing in many varieties. The question of when and where rice originated is a matter of debate; however, for Turks, as for other nations, rice is an important source of nutrition. The word for rice, in the form tuturkan, first appears among the Ancient Uyghurs, who cultivated agriculture from Central Asia onwards and considered rice a commodity for trade. This word, widely used in Old Uyghur texts, also found its place in Kashgaris Dīwān Lugāt at-Turk. Following Old Turkic, the word tuturkan for rice continues to be used in the linguistic heritage of Middle Turkic, including Khorezmian, Kipchak, and Chagatai Turkic. This term, absent in Old Anatolian Turkish, reappeared in a glossary written in 17th-century Ottoman literature. Today, the word tuturkan is used only in the Sari Uyghur dialect among contemporary Turkic languages. The aim of this study is to provide the etymology of the word tuturkan, which has been suggested to be borrowed from Mongolian in many previous studies. This study comprises six parts. Following the introduction, the first part examines the historical forms of the word tuturkan in Turkic languages; the second part explores the contemporary equivalents for rice in Turkic languages; and the third part reviews previous researchers opinions regarding the word tuturkan; the fourth part examines the etymological and semantic aspects of the word tuturkan, and the final part presents the researchs conclusions.

 Agricultural production holds great importance for human life. Among the products resulting from agricultural activities, rice stands out, being known by almost all societies and existing in many varieties. The question of when and where rice originated is a matter of debate; however, for Turks, as for other nations, rice is an important source of nutrition. The word for rice, in the form tuturkan, first appears among the Ancient Uyghurs, who cultivated agriculture from Central Asia onwards and considered rice a commodity for trade. This word, widely used in Old Uyghur texts, also found its place in Kashgaris Dīwān Lugāt at-Turk. Following Old Turkic, the word tuturkan for rice continues to be used in the linguistic heritage of Middle Turkic, including Khorezmian, Kipchak, and Chagatai Turkic. This term, absent in Old Anatolian Turkish, reappeared in a glossary written in 17th-century Ottoman literature. Today, the word tuturkan is used only in the Sari Uyghur dialect among contemporary Turkic languages. The aim of this study is to provide the etymology of the word tuturkan, which has been suggested to be borrowed from Mongolian in many previous studies. This study comprises six parts. Following the introduction, the first part examines the historical forms of the word tuturkan in Turkic languages; the second part explores the contemporary equivalents for rice in Turkic languages; and the third part reviews previous researchers opinions regarding the word tuturkan; the fourth part examines the etymological and semantic aspects of the word tuturkan, and the final part presents the researchs conclusions.

 İnsan yaşamı için tarımsal üretim büyük öneme sahiptir. Tarımsal faaliyetler sonucunda yetiştirilen ürünlerin başında ise hemen hemen bütün toplumlar tarafından bilinen ve birçok türü bulunan pirinç gelir. Ne zaman ve nerede ortaya çıktığı konusu tartışmalı olan pirinç diğer milletlerde olduğu gibi Türkler için de önemli bir besin kaynağıdır. Türkler arasında Orta Asyadan itibaren tarımı yapılan ve ticaret ürünü olarak düşünülen pirinç sözcüğü tuturkan şekliyle ilk olarak Eski Uygurlarda karşımıza çıkar. Eski Uygur metinlerinde yaygın kullanım alanına sahip sözcük, Kaşgarlının Dîvânü Lügâtit-Türkünde de kendine yer bulur. Eski Türkçenin ardından Orta Türkçe devresine ait Harezm, Kıpçak ve Çağatay Türkçesi dil yadigârlarında da tuturkan sözcüğü pirinç için kullanılmaya devam eder. Eski Anadolu Türkçesinde karşılaşmadığımız sözcük 17. yüzyıl Osmanlı sahasında kaleme alınmış bir edviye lügatinde yeniden görülür. Bugün, tuturkan sözcüğü Çağdaş Türk lehçelerinden yalnız Sarı Uygurlarda kullanılır. Bu çalışmanın amacı ise bu zamana kadar yapılan birçok araştırmada Moğolcadan alıntılanmış olduğu öne sürülen tuturkan sözcüğünün kökenbilgisinin verilmesidir. Çalışma altı bölümden oluşmaktadır. Giriş kısmının ardından ilk kısımda tuturkan sözcüğünün tarihî Türk dillerindeki şekillerine, ikinci kısımda pirinç için çağdaş Türk dillerinde bulunan karşılıklara, üçüncü kısımda tuturkan sözcüğü için önceki araştırmacıların görüşlerine, dördüncü kısımda tuturkan sözcüğünün kökenbilgisel ve anlambilgisel yönlerine, son kısımda ise araştırmanın sonuçlarına yer verilmiştir.

Makale detayları

On the etymology of the word tuturkan ‘rice’

Yazarlar:

Nuray Demir Öztürk

Yayıncı:

Hacettepe University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Türk Dili (Orhun | Uygur | Karahanlı)

Dergi:

Türkbilig Vol.2025 Issue 49, pp.588-599

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352166

pISSN:

1302-6011

rice

tuturkan

etymology

Old Uyghur

Mongolianpirinç

tuturkan

kökenbilgisi

Eski Uygurca

Moğolca

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Nuray Demir Öztürk

Yayıncı: Hacettepe University

Ana Başlıklar: Eski Türk Dili (Orhun | Uygur | Karahanlı)

Dergi: Türkbilig Vol.2025 Issue 49, pp.588-599

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 6/2025

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001352166

pISSN: 1302-6011

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Nuray Demir Öztürk

Yayıncı:

Hacettepe University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Türk Dili (Orhun | Uygur | Karahanlı)

Dergi:

Türkbilig Vol.2025 Issue 49, pp.588-599

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352166

pISSN:

1302-6011