The Etymology of Some Gilaki Words

IntroductionEtymology is in brief the study of word’s origin or history. Thus, to achieve the correct root of ¬a word, one should get back in time to be able to provide evident information about the word and confidently restore the word-formation process. Gilaki dialect is a modern Iranian one belongs to the northwestern branch of Iranian languages and dialects spoken toward the edge of Caspian Sea and the sideline of southwest coast of the Sea. Like other Iranian dialects, Gilaki is of several types such that sometimes a different variation is used in the neighboring parts. In addition, Gilaki, in terms of linguistics is significantly different from standard Persian in different structural, phonological, and lexica levels.
MethodologyThis research is a diachronic one which studies the etymology of twenty Gilaki words on the basis of the reliable references of historical linguistics as well as etmylogical ones. Based on researcher’s intuition, the data were collected from the plains of east Guilan and the mountainous part of Deylaman and some others were gathered in the field. In any entry, the ancient Iranian and Indo-European roots along with the phonological/ structural features of the word are given. Then, the cognates of other Iranian languages and dialects are presented. The field method was used to get the data from Tati, Talishi, Mazandarani, and Hawrami. The phonemic transcription of the data was done in terms of the methods and symbols prevalent in the works in Iranian languages. 3- Discussion -ča: mən »urine «This is the Gilaki noun derived from ancint Iranian *č āman- *uara- > vər- -dajanēn» to pain «It is the Gilaki causative verb from causative stem dajan-, present stem daj- derived from ancient Iranian *daj-» to burn, to fire «> *daja- > daj-. - dəxrāvəstən» crumble «It is the Gilaki verb from derivative prefix də-, past stem xrāvəst- derived from *xrau-» to tear, to rip, to break «>*xrāua- > xrāv-. - fušon» wrinkle «It is the Gilaki noun from derivative prefix fu-» bottom «and šon *vaxta- > vat-. -kərjə» tap, flick «It is the Gilaki noun derived from ancient Iranian *karčaka- *mixta- > məxt- > mət. - nəštə» old «It is the Gilaki participle based on ancient participle derived from *nas-» to disappear, to vanish «> *nasta- > našt-. - nəvəstə» moved «It is the Gilaki participle based on past stem of nəvəst- formed on present stem nəv-: *naṷ-» to move «> *naṷa- > nəv-. -rut» muddy & contaminated water «It is the relic of ancient Iranian participle *ruta- *tāra- > tār-. -valət» torn «It is the relic of ancient participle from derivative prefix va- and *rak-» to cut, to tear «>*rakta- > lət-. -vindərdə» standing «It is the Gilaki participle from the ancient Iranian *ṷi-ni-dar-» to stand «> *ṷindarta- > vindərd- xəfə» cough «It is the Gilaki noun derived from *xafaka- *zāra- > zār-» to hurt, to injure, to irritate «
ConclusionStudying the etymology of Gilaki words not only reveals the association of this dialect with other Iranian dialects particularly Tati, and Talishi in three periods of Ancient, Middle, and Modern Iranian, it also reflects the developmental process of phonemes and lexical structures and indicates the lexical and semantic capacity of this dialect, as well as other Iranian languages, and the related dialects. Taking the opportunity to scrutinize Iranian languages and dialects in terms of historical linguistics and etymological researches. This is to find a way not only to preserve and keep these valuable treasures but also to use their lexical and semantic capacity for word-formation and further to enhance the richness of Persian language.