Cognates and semantic shifts

User avatar
Naava
Forum Administrator
Posts:1783
Joined:2012-01-17, 20:24
Country:FIFinland (Suomi)
Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Naava » 2018-10-14, 19:56

Linguaphile wrote:(fi) puhua to speak

'to speak' is the default meaning of this verb, but you can still use it in 'to blow' sense when talking about wind.* Imo that's interesting because the same root is used in the word puhuri, which is a strong gust of wind.

*Not super common, but you hear it sometimes.

Linguaphile wrote:(fi) puhkua to blow

Puhkua is more like to huff or to puff: to breath heavily or to blow with strong puffs. "Normal" blowing is puhaltaa.

Linguaphile wrote:(fi) löyly sauna steam

By the way...
löylyttää = to beat up someone, to rout someone
verilöyly = slaughter, massacre (lit. blood löyly)

At first I couldn't understand how it's possible to start with lovely sauna steams and end up with slaughter and beating, but then I remembered how I once went to a swimming hall sauna. It was almost empty, there was only one woman there. Quite soon after I had sat down, she asked me if she could throw more löyly. I didn't see the imminent danger I was in, so I answered 'sure!', and so she took the ladle and turned the sauna into a furnace. And I couldn't even leave because I had just assured her I wouldn't mind it!

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2018-10-14, 21:15

Naava wrote:By the way...
löylyttää = to beat up someone, to rout someone
verilöyly = slaughter, massacre (lit. blood löyly)

At first I couldn't understand how it's possible to start with lovely sauna steams and end up with slaughter and beating, but then I remembered how I once went to a swimming hall sauna. It was almost empty, there was only one woman there. Quite soon after I had sat down, she asked me if she could throw more löyly. I didn't see the imminent danger I was in, so I answered 'sure!', and so she took the ladle and turned the sauna into a furnace. And I couldn't even leave because I had just assured her I wouldn't mind it!

LOL. Where I live, when it's uncomfortably hot outside (the type of heat that feels like a blast from a furnace when you step outside), people complain: "It's like a sauna today."

The range of meanings that leil has in Estonian is:
1. kuumale kerisele heidetud veest tekkinud aur. (steam made from water thrown onto hot stones in a sauna stove)
2. kuumus, lõõsk, leitsak. (heat, fiery heat)
3. mahv, tamp; sõit, säru. (hard work, difficult time, beating)
4. hing, eluvaim, toss. (soul, life spirit, life)
So the third one is similar to what you described for Finnish, but (I think) more metaphorical. That one is listed as colloquial and the fourth definition is listed as "rare".
By the way, the word verilöyly is veresaun in Estonian (bloodbath in English).

The word löylyttää makes me think of the Estonian word leilitama, except that leilitama simply means leili viskama. Is there a verb form for löyly that means "to throw löyly"? Is löylyttää ever used that way too?
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

User avatar
Naava
Forum Administrator
Posts:1783
Joined:2012-01-17, 20:24
Country:FIFinland (Suomi)

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Naava » 2018-10-16, 9:31

Linguaphile wrote:LOL. Where I live, when it's uncomfortably hot outside (the type of heat that feels like a blast from a furnace when you step outside), people complain: "It's like a sauna today."

We say that "it's hot like in a sauna". You can also say that "it's hot like in a badly heated sauna" because anything less than 60C in a sauna is very unpleasant.

Linguaphile wrote:By the way, the word verilöyly is veresaun in Estonian (bloodbath in English).

Hmm. Is it a loan, then? :hmm: I've always thought bloodbath makes more sense than verilöyly because you could bathe in blood, but there isn't a way you could add blood to löyly. But now that I started to think of it, the verb kylpeä means both 'to have a bath' and 'to go to sauna'. I can see how you could go from bloodbath to veresaun to verilöyly. :)

Thanks for teaching me a new word, btw. Veresaun will definitely go to my collection of weird words in foreign languages that I truly hope I won't ever need to use in real life.

Linguaphile wrote:The word löylyttää makes me think of the Estonian word leilitama, except that leilitama simply means leili viskama. Is there a verb form for löyly that means "to throw löyly"? Is löylyttää ever used that way too?

No, we say heittää löylyä (to throw löyly). You can also say lisää löylyä (more löyly), but if you start talking about löylyttäminen, people will get worried. :mrgreen:

Another violent sauna word phrase:
viedä saunan taakse - 'to beat up', sometimes also 'to murder' (lit. to take someone behind the sauna)

Linguaphile wrote:(olo) saunu sauna

My great-grandmother, who spoke one of the Karelian dialects of Finnish, always used the word kyly for sauna. Does it exist in Karelian languages, too? If yes, do they also have the word sauna or saunu or is it just Livvi-Karelian? Does Livvi-Karelian have the word kyly?

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2018-10-17, 2:41

Naava wrote:You can also say that "it's hot like in a badly heated sauna" because anything less than 60C in a sauna is very unpleasant.

LOL. Well, I'd better not point that out to anyone where I live on an uncomfortably hot day, because if I were to say something like "it only feels unpleasant because it isn't hot enough," I'm likely to experience the Finnish kind of löylyttäminen. Not the Estonian leilitamine kind. :whistle:

Naava wrote:
Linguaphile wrote:The word löylyttää makes me think of the Estonian word leilitama, except that leilitama simply means leili viskama. Is there a verb form for löyly that means "to throw löyly"? Is löylyttää ever used that way too?

No, we say heittää löylyä (to throw löyly). You can also say lisää löylyä (more löyly), but if you start talking about löylyttäminen, people will get worried. :mrgreen:

Fortunately, in Estonian leili viskama is more common than leilitama, so that particular confusion probably doesn't come up too often. But if it does, it could be really confusing. Or dangerous. :mrgreen:

Naava wrote:
Linguaphile wrote:(olo) saunu sauna

My great-grandmother, who spoke one of the Karelian dialects of Finnish, always used the word kyly for sauna. Does it exist in Karelian languages, too? If yes, do they also have the word sauna or saunu or is it just Livvi-Karelian? Does Livvi-Karelian have the word kyly?

Yes, they all have the word kyly and it seems that the more northern and central dialects use the word sauna too, while Livvi-Karelian uses saunu. It is külü in Ingrian (Izhorian) and Ludic too. Also, Veps has the word küľbeť, which is a Russian-style sauna (banya).
I guess the closest cognate for küľbeť should be kylpy rather than kyly, but presumably they are all related.

(olo) kyly sauna
(lud) külü sauna
külü sauna
(fi) kylpy bath, bathtub :?:
(olo) kylpie to bathe, to have a sauna (Fin. saunoa), especially when using a sauna whisk
(vep) küľbeť Russian sauna (Rus. баня)
(fi) kylpeä to bathe, to bask
(vot) tšülpiä to beat oneself with a sauna whisk (Est. vihtlema)
(vep) kül’ptas to swim
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2018-10-27, 16:37

A phonological shift rather than a semantic one:

"Star"

Mordvinic - the final consonant cluster is št:
(mdf) тяште star
(myv) теште star

Finnic - here the št found in Mordvinic is ht (with the exception of Livonian, which had d instead):
Finnish (fi) tähti star
Karelian (krl) tähti star
Votic (vot) tähti star
tähti star
Livvi-Karelian (olo) tiähti star
Ludic (lud) ťiähť star
Veps (vep) tähtaz star
Estonian (et) täht star, letter of the alphabet
Võro (vro) tähť star, letter of the alphabet
Livonian (liv) tēḑ star, letter of the alphabet

Eastern Saamic + Kodavere dialect of Estonian (an eastern Estonian dialect on the shore of Lake Peipsi) have st.
Mari has st too, but the related word in Mari does not mean "star" but rather "mark, symbol" (similar to Estonian täht and Livonian tēḑ "letter of the alphabet").
Meadow Mari (mhr) тисте mark, symbol, flag
Ter Saami (smi-smt) тассьта star
Kildin Saami (smi-smk) та̄ссьт star
Akkala Saami (smi-akk) tāst star
Kodavere Estonian (et) täst star, letter of the alphabet
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) täʹstt star

Eastern Saamic - a bit further west, the st changes to sn (Skolt is transitional and has both täʹstt and täʹsnn):
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) täʹsnn star
Inari Saami (smi-smn) täsni star

Western Saamic - here the initial t and the n switch places, resulting in a word-initial n and then st:
Northern Saami (smi-sme) násti star
Lule Saami (smi-smj) násste star
Pite Saami (smi-smp) násste star
Ume Saami (smi-smu) násstie star
South Saami (smi-sma) naestie star
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2018-11-26, 1:58

Differences in connotation (general weather, stormy weather, air):

Finnish (fi) sää weather
Veps (vep) weather
Karelian (kar) seä weather
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) šõŋŋ weather
Inari Saami (smi-smn) šoŋŋâ weather

Northern Saami (smi-sme) šakŋa weather conditions

Votic (vot) sää bad weather
Ludic (lud) siä bad weather

Vaivara dialect of Estonian (et) sää storm (Vaivara dialect only)
Ter Saami (smi-smt) шэ̄ӊӊ storm
Kildin Saami (smi-smk) шэ̄ӊӊ storm
Komi Zyrian (kv-kpv) сьыв storm

Komi Zyrian (kv-kpv) сынӧд air
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-02-24, 1:31

Interesting set which leads to such contrasts as ilo: (lud) joy, happiness (krl) funny, odd
also illos: (vro) beautiful (smi-smj) vicious, malicious, lewd
from proto form *ilo


(fi) ilo joy, happiness, pleasure, fun; (older usage) beautiful
(vot) ilo joy, happiness, pleasure, fun, party, glad
ilo joy, fun
(vep) ilo joy, laughter
(lud) ilo joy, happiness
(et) ilo joy, happiness (poetic and/or older usage)
(smi-smn) ilo joy, gladness, delight (Inari Saami)
(smi-sme) illo joy, gladness, delight (North Saami)
(smi-sms) illoi joy, gladness, delight (Skolt Saami)

(vro) ilo beauty, delight
(et) ilu beauty, delight
(et) ilus beautiful
Kodavere dialect of Estonian (et) ilos beautiful (Kodavere dialect)
(vro) illos beautiful
Kihnu dialect of Estonian (et) jõlu beauty, delight (Kihnu dialect)
Kihnu dialect of Estonian (et) jõlus beautiful (Kihnu dialect)

(smi-smj) illos vicious, malicious, lewd (Lule Saami)
(smi-smj) illo pleasure, desire (Lule Saami)
(smi-smp) âllo urge, desire, inclination (Pite Saami)

(krl) ilo funny, odd
(liv) ilā nature, character
(mdf) ила custom, rite
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-03-17, 17:20

(young or stunted/poor-growing pine, but generic pine in Finnish, Estonian, and Ludic)
(et) mänd pine
(lud) mänd pine
(liv) mänd young pine
(vep) mänd pine forest in a bog
(olo) mändü gnarly resinous pine
mändü stunted pine
(fi) mänty pine

(combination of the words above and below)
(vot) mäntüpetäjä tall thin pine

(generic pine, except in Finnish)
Estonian, mostly central dialects (et) pedakas pine
Estonian, mostly Eastern dialects (et) pedajas pine
(vot) petäjä pine
(fi) petäjä old pine that has grown large
pettääjä pine
(vro) petäi pine
(olo) pedäi pine
(lud) pedai pine
(vep) pedei pine
(liv) piedāg pine
Kildin Saami (smi-smk) пе̄дзь pine
Akkala Saami (smi) pets pine
Inari Saami (smi-smn) peeci pine
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) pieʹcc pine
Ter Saami (smi-smt) piecce pine
Pite Saami (smi-smp) biehtse pine
South Saami (smi-sma) bietsie pine
Lule Saami (smi-smj) bietsie pine
Ume Saami (smi-smu) biehtsie pine
Northern Saami (smi-sme) beahci pine
Erzya (myv) пиче pine
Moksha (mdf) пиче pine
Meadow Mari (mhr) пӱнчӧ pine
Udmurt (udm) пужым pine
Komi Permyak (kv-koi) пожум pine
Komi Zyrian (kv-kpv) пожӧм pine

(large old pine, except for Hill Mari, which may not be etymologically related to the others)
(olo) hongu old pine that has grown large
(et) hong old pine that has grown large
(lud) hong old pine that has grown large
(vep) hong old pine that has grown large
(vot) hoŋka old pine that has grown large
(fi) honka old pine that has grown large
honka old pine that has grown large
South Saami (smi-sma) haajhke old pine that has grown large
North Saami (smi-sme) háika old pine that has grown large
Lule Saami (smi-smj) hájkka rough old pine or spruce with a hard inner core
Inari Saami (smi-smn) aikkâ old pine that has grown large
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) aikk old pine that has grown large
Ter Saami (smi-smt) ajjk old pine that has grown large
Hill Mari (mrj) йӓктӹ pine
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-03-18, 20:03

It seems that in the first set, the original meaning was "male" and then it shifted to refer to the males of specific species (depending on the language: dogs, reindeer, moose) and then in several Finnic languages expanded to include all dogs regardless of gender. In modern language some languages have retained only a variant of koira for "dog" while others have retained only a variant of peni instead. For the languages that still actively use both words side by side, koira refers to a male dog and peni to a female dog.

(fi) koira dog
(krl) koira dog
(vot) koira dog
(olo) koiru dog
(vep) koir dog
(vro) koir male dog
(et) koer dog
Komi Zyrian (kv-kpv) кыр male dog
Eastern Khanty (kca) кар male reindeer
Northern Khanty (kca) хар male reindeer
Northern Mansi (mns) ха̄р male moose, male horse
Nganasan (nio) куру male reindeer
Enets (yrk) кура male reindeer
Nenets (yrk) хора male reindeer

(liv) piņ dog
(vro) pini dog
Southern Estonian (et) peni dog
(fi) peni dog (archaic, but apparently still used as a common dog's name)
(vot) peni female dog
(fi) pennika puppy, child, brat
pennika puppy
(krl) pennikä puppy
Erzya (myv) пине dog
Kildin Saami (smi-smk) пе̄ннэ dog
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) piânnai dog
Ter Saami (smi-smt) pienâg dog
Lule Saami (smi-smp) bena dog
Pite Saami (smi-smp) biena dog
South Saami (smi-sma) bïenje dog
Ume Saami (smi-smu) biädnja dog
Northern Saami (smi-sme) beana dog
Udmurt (udm) пуны dog
Komi (kv) пон dog
Meadow Mari (mhr) пий dog

Combination of both:
Komi Permyak (kv-koi) кырпон male dog
(vro) koirapini male dog
(vot) penikoira female dog
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-03-28, 1:14

(mns) я̄ river
(yrk) яха river
(kv-kvp) ю river
(yrk) йухан river
(mdf) йов Moksha River
(myv) йов Moksha River
(hu) river [archaic; now used mainly in placenames]
(smi-sma) johke river
(smi-sms) jokk river
(smi-smt) jokk river
(fi) joki river
(krl) joki river
(olo) jogi river
jogi river
(vep) jogi river
(et) jõgi river
(vro) jõgi river
(vot) jõtši river
(lud) ďogi river
(smi-smk) ёгк river
(liv) joug river
(smi-sme) johka river
(smi-smu) juhkka river
(smi-smn) juuhâ river
(smi-smj) jåhkå river
(smi-sms) jooǥǥ river [genitive]
(smi-sme) joga river [genitive]
(et) juga waterfall
(vro) juga waterfall
(fi) juka waterfall, rapids [dialect]
(krl) juka burial place in a river
(smi-smj) jiegge marsh, bog
(smi-sma) jiegkie marsh, bog
(smi-smp) jäg'ge marsh, bog
(smi-smu) jeäg'gie marsh, bog
(smi-sms) jeäʹǧǧ marsh, bog
(smi-sme) jeaggi marsh, bog
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-03-28, 5:07

red = describes something hot; blue = describes something cold; brown = both hot and cold (or neither).
(This is really incomplete; the descendants of Proto-Uralic *pala are very extensive and semantically diverse. I have focused here mainly on Finnic and Saamic and the meanings related to hot and cold, and organized them more or less phonetically rather than by meaning.)

pallaa to burn [intransitive], to give light or be turned on [of electric lights]
(fi) palaa to burn [intransitive], to give light or be turned on [of electric lights]
Eastern Votic (vot) palaa to burn [intransitive]
(lud) palada to burn [intransitive]
(vep) palada to burn [intransitive], to give light or be turned on [of electric lights], to have a fever
(vro) palama to burn [intransitive], to give light or be turned on [of electric lights]
(vep) palab red-hot, glowing
(et) palav hot, sweltering
(vro) pallav hot, sweltering
Eastern Votic (vot) palava hot, burning
(et) palavik fever
(vro) palavik fever
(vro) palotama to burn [transitive]
(olo) palua to burn [intransitive], to give light or be turned on [of electric lights]
(myv) паломс to burn

(liv) palātõ to burn [transitive]
(liv) palābteb fever
(liv) pallõ to burn [intransitive]
(vot) pallõttaa to freeze [transitive]
(vot) pallõttua to freeze to death

(krl) palella to freeze completely, to burn completely
(fi) palella to freeze
(fi) paleltaa to be freezing
(vep) paľeta to freeze completely
palendaa to freeze, to be cold[blood]
palehtoja to clot, coagulate [blood]

(fi) polttaa to burn [transitive]
(et) põlema to burn [intransitive], to give light or be turned on [of electric lights]
(et) põletama to burn [transitive]
(et) põlev burning
Western Votic (vot) põlõa to burn [intransitive], to give light, to scorch, to singe, to dry
Western Votic (vot) põlõttaa to burn [transitive]

(smi-smk) пӯллэ to burn
(smi-smt) pɨell'ted to burn
(smi-smn) pyelliđ to burn
(smi-sms) pueʹlled to burn
(smi-sma) bueledh to burn
(smi-smp) buollet to burn
(smi-smj) buollet to burn
(smi-smj) buolle burning, glowing
(smi-sme) buollit to burn, to prickle, to tingle
(smi-sme) buollin fire
(smi-sme) buollát to catch fire, ignite
(smi-sme) buolaš frost, frosty weather
(smi-smu) buölliet to burn
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-05-11, 21:54

fern
The component sana(n)/sõna means "word", earlier meanings are associated with written letters of the alphabet, runic housemarks, and so on; here it refers to the letter-like shapes found inside the fern stem. The second component jalk(a)/jalg(a) means "leg, foot" and refers to the stem itself. More discussion of this from Naava here.
I'm not sure where "pants + leg" for the word "fern" comes from, but several of the languages that use it also have "word + leg" as a synonym for "fern" as well. Maybe because of the similar sounds of "sana" and "stana", the use of "pants + leg" for "fern" developed just because it sounded similar and the meaning seemed to make sense?


(fi) saniainen fern ("the word/mark[ed] one" :?: )

(et) sõnajalg fern (word/letter + leg)
(vro) sõnajalg fern (word/letter + leg)
(vot) sõnajalka fern (word/letter + leg)
Livvi-Karelian, Olonets (olo) sanijalgu fern (word/letter + leg)
(vep) sänijaug fern (word/letter + leg)
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) sann'jaž fern (possibly a loan :?: ; for "word + leg" I would expect *sääʹnjueʹlǧǧ rather than sann'jaž)

(fi) sananjalka bracken fern (word/letter + leg)
(fi) sanajalka bracken fern (word/letter + leg)
(et) kilpjalg bracken fern (shield + leg)
(vro) kilṕjalg bracken fern (shield + leg)

(vot) štanajalka fern (pants + leg)
Karelian (krl) stanajalga fern (pants + leg)
Livvi-Karelian, Olonets (olo) stanajalgu fern (pants + leg)
Ludic, Ludian (lud) sťaninďaug fern (pants + leg)
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

h34
Posts:1425
Joined:2014-12-16, 20:15

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby h34 » 2019-05-12, 15:19

Interesting! This made me think of how in Mari, the noun йол / jol, 'foot', 'leg', has another (unexpected) meaning: 'ray' in the context of 'sunrays'. Are there parallels in other Uralic languages? I've only found something similar in Chuvash, хĕвел ури (literally 'sun leg' or 'sun legs'), which apparently means 'a bundle of sunrays'. Browsing some online dictionaries gave me the impression that in other Uralic languages, except Erzya, the word has a similar literal meaning as in English; but are there perhaps dialectal or more traditional expressions with a different etymology? So far, I've found:

(fi) auringonsäde, päivänsäde (~ray)
(et) päikesekiir (~ray)

(myv) чинал / činal (~arrow)

(mrj) кечыял / kečõjal (~leg)
(mhr) кечыйол / kečõjol (~leg)

(udm) шунды си / šundy si (~ray)
(kv-kpv) шондi югöр / šondi jugör (~ray)

(hu) napsugár (~ray)

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-05-12, 16:41

h34 wrote:Interesting! This made me think of how in Mari, the noun йол / jol, 'foot', 'leg', has another (unexpected) meaning: 'ray' in the context of 'sunrays'. Are there parallels in other Uralic languages? I've only found something similar in Chuvash, хĕвел ури (literally 'sun leg' or 'sun legs'), which apparently means 'a bundle of sunrays'. Browsing some online dictionaries gave me the impression that in other Uralic languages, except Erzya, the word has a similar literal meaning as in English; but are there perhaps dialectal or more traditional expressions with a different etymology?

I can't think of others with the "leg" meaning, but I'm adding Võro (~line, ~stripe), Lule and South Sami (~rope), the Kihnu dialect of Estonian (~tongue), and some other languages that have ~ray (Livonian, Inari and Skolt Saami).
By the way, the word that means "ray" in Finnish (säde) means "spark" in Estonian, and in some related languages and dialects "spark" is also a meaning of words related to the Estonian word for "ray" (kiir), so in terms of etymology the words "ray" and "spark" seem to be quite closely related in Finnic languages.
In other words (since you asked for "more traditional expressions") the modern meaning is translated as "ray" or "beam", which as you said has a similar literal meaning as English, but etymologically the Finnish and/or Estonian words may trace their origins back to something closer to "spark". (Or, the shift may have occurred in the opposite direction, from "ray" to "spark" rather than vice versa; but in any case, these words seem to have an interesting relationship of some sort.)

(fi) auringonsäde, päivänsäde (~ray)
(et) päikesekiir (~ray)
Kihnu dialect (et) pääväkiel (~tongue)
(liv) pǟvavīpš (~ray)
(vro) pääväjutť (~line, ~stripe), pääväkirǵ (~spark, but probably meant as ~ray here due to influence of Estonian kiir)

Inari (smi-smn) piäiváásuonjâr (~ray)
Skolt (smi-sms) peiʹvvšuõnn (~ray)
Lule (smi-smj) biejvelábttje (~rope)
South (smi-sma) biejjielaemtjie (~rope)

(myv) чинал / činal (~arrow)

(mrj) кечыял / kečõjal (~leg)
(mhr) кечыйол / kečõjol (~leg)

(udm) шунды си / šundy si (~ray)
(kv-kpv) шондi югöр / šondi jugör (~ray)

(hu) napsugár (~ray)
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-05-12, 20:53

Linguaphile in the previous post wrote:in terms of etymology the words "ray" and "spark" seem to be quite closely related in Finnic languages

So on that note.... (making a separate post since it's a bit off-topic from h34's post that I responded to above)

(fi) säde ray (gen. säteen)
(et) säde spark (gen. sädeme)
(vep) sädeg firewood, wood splinters (gen. sädegen)
(liv) sädgõz spark (gen. sädgõ)
säe ray (gen. säen)
(vot) säe spark (gen. sätee)
(fi) säen spark (gen. säkeneen, alt.nom. säkene)

(et) kiir ray (gen. kiire)
Salatsi (liv) k'irüg spark (gen. k'irüg)
(vro) kirg' spark (gen. kire)
(et) kirg passion, spark (gen. kire)
(fi) kirkas bright, vivid (gen. kirkkaan)
(olo) kirre lust, desire (gen. kirren)
(kv-kpv) чир (čir) spark (gen. чирлӧн)
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-05-26, 19:25

Livonian (liv) im wonder, miracle
Estonian (et) ime wonder, miracle
Votic (vot) ime wonder, miracle
Finnish (fi) ihme wonder, miracle
ihme wonder, miracle
Võro (vro) imeh wonder, miracle
Karelian (krl) imeh wonder, miracle, smile, laughter, sad
Ludian (lud) imehtuda to delight, to rejoice
Livvi-Karelian (olo) imehüt sad, unhappy
Salatsi (liv) imi human, person
ihmiin human, person
Finnish (fi) ihminen human, person
Estonian (et) inimene human, person
Kihnu Estonian (et) inime human, person
Võro (vro) inemine human, person
Votic (vot) inehmiin human, person
Livvi-Karelian (olo) ińehmine woman
Ludian (lud) inahmoi woman
Veps (vep) inehmoi lazy or inept person
Moksha (mdf) инжи [inži] stranger, foreigner
Erzya (myv) инже [inže] stranger, foreigner
Northern Saami (smi-sme) amas strange, odd, foreign, unknown
PIte Saami (smi-smp) amas strange, unknown
Lule Saami (smi-smj) amás strange, foreign, unknown
South Saami (smi-sma) ammes stranger
Inari Saami (smi-smn) oomâs strange, peculiar
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) õõmâs miracle, surprising, miraculous
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-05-30, 4:35

South Saami (smi-sma) gïerhkeme cradleboard
Lule Saami (smi-smj) gierkav cradleboard
Northern Saami (smi-sme) gietkka cradleboard
northern Finnish (fi) kietka cradle
Inari Saami (smi-smn) kietkâm cradleboard
Skolt Saami (smi-sms) ǩiõtkâm cradleboard
Kildin Saami (smi-smk) кӣткэм cradleboard
Finnish (fi) kätkyt cradle
Livvi-Karelian (olo) kätküt cradle
Kihnu Estonian (et) kätkü cradle
kädüd cradle
Votic (vot) tšätšüd (k > tš) cradle; fishing basket
Votic (vot) tšätšö (k > tš) storeroom, cache
northern and western Estonian (et) kätki cradle
Veps (vep) kätken [gen.] (nom. kätte) cradle
Finnish (fi) kätkeä to hide, to cover
northern Karelian (krl) kätkie to hide, to store away
Estonian (et) kätkema to hide, to cover
Võro (vro) käḱmä to hide
Erzya (myv) кекшемс (kekšems) to hide
Moksha (mdf) кяшемс (käšems) to hide
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-05-31, 5:10

Some close cognates between Estonian and Kildin Saami:

(et) selg (smi-smk) се̄лльк sēll'k back
(et) naba (smi-smk) на̄бпь nābp' navel
(et) rind (smi-smk) раннҍт rann't chest
(et) kand (smi-smk) ка̄ннт kānnt heel
(et) põlv (smi-smk) пуллв pullv knee
(et) jalg (smi-smk) ю̄лльк jūll'k leg
(et) veri (smi-smk) вэ̄рр vērr blood
(et) soon (smi-smk) сӯнн sūnn vein
(et) leib (smi-smk) ле̄ййп lēijp bread
(et) või (smi-smk) вӯйй vūij butter
(et) leem (smi-smk) лӣмм līmm soup
(et) nälg (smi-smk) не̄лльк nēll'k hunger
(et) rõõm (smi-smk) ро̄а̄мм rōāmm joy
(et) laul (smi-smk) ла̄ввл lāvvl song
(et) päev (smi-smk) пе̄ййв pēijv day
(et) pilv (smi-smk) пэллв pellv cloud
(et) tuli (smi-smk) то̄лл tōll fire
(et) külmus (smi-smk) кэ̄лмас kēlmas coldness
(et) talv (smi-smk) та̄лльв tāll'v winter
(et) järv (smi-smk) я̄ввьр jāvv'r lake
(et) jõgi (smi-smk) ё̄гк jōgk river
(et) rand (smi-smk) рыннт rõnnt shore
(et) kaev (smi-smk) ка̄ййв kāijv well
(et) meri (smi-smk) ме̄рр mērr sea
(et) mander (smi-smk) ма̄ннтэр mānnter continent
(et) kuus (smi-smk) кӯсс kūss fir
(et) mari (smi-smk) мӯррьй mūrr'j berry
(et) seeme (smi-smk) се̄м sēm seed
(et) vares (smi-smk) вӯрэч vūreč crow
(et) kurg (smi-smk) кӯррк kūrrk crane
(et) kana (smi-smk) ка̄ннҌ kānn' chicken
(et) kala (smi-smk) кӯлль kūll' fish
(et) madu (smi-smk) ма̄дт mādt worm
(et) lehm (smi-smk) лӣххьм līhh'm cow
(et) peni (smi-smk) пе̄ннэ pēnne dog
(et) nahk (smi-smk) на̄ххьк nāhh'k leather
(et) surm (smi-smk) соаррьм soarr'm death
(et) kalm (smi-smk) ка̄лльм kāll'm grave
(et) aeg (smi-smk) а̄ййк āijk time
(et) noor (smi-smk) нӯрр nūrr young
(et) veel (smi-smk) вя̄л vjāl still
(et) keskel (smi-smk) кэ̄скэль kēskel' among
(et) elama (smi-smk) е̄лле ēlle live
(et) minema (smi-smk) мэ̄ннэ mēnne go
(et) teadma (smi-smk) тӣдтӭ tīdtje know
(et) kuulma (smi-smk) куллэ kulle hear
(et) otsima (smi-smk) о̄дзэ ōdze look for
(et) peitma (smi-smk) пе̄йхьтэ pēih'te conceal
(et) lõpetama (smi-smk) луэппьтэ luepp'te finish
(et) neelama (smi-smk) нӣллэ nīlle swallow
(et) paistma (smi-smk) па̄шшьтэ pāšš'te shine
(et) põletama (smi-smk) пуэлльтэ puell'te burn
(et) kaevama (smi-smk) куаййве kuaijve dig
(et) lugema (smi-smik) ло̄гкэ lōgke read, count
(et) müüma (smi-smk) мӣгкэ mīgke sell
(et) maksma (smi-smk) ма̄ккьсе mākk'se pay
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-06-02, 0:19

Some close cognates between Estonian and Moksha:

(et) silm (mdf) сельме sel'me eye
(et) keel (mdf) кяль käl' tongue
(et) kätt* (mdf) кядь käd' hand, arm
(et) sõrm (mdf) сур sur finger
(et) veri (mdf) вер ver blood
(et) soon (mdf) сан san vein
(et) maks (mdf) макса maksa liver
(et) vett* (mdf) ведь ved' water
(et) või (mdf) вай vaj butter
(et) mett* (mdf) медь med' honey
(et) uni (mdf) он on dream
(et) kuu (mdf) ков kov moon, month
(et) täht (mdf) тяште täšte star
(et) kivi (mdf) кев kev stone
(et) muda (mdf) мода moda soil
(et) juur (mdf) юр jur root
(et) tuli (mdf) тол tol fire
(et) külm (mdf) кельме kel'me cold
(et) kuus (mdf) куз kuz fir
(et) pesa (mdf) пиза piza nest
(et) vares (mdf) варси varsi crow
(et) kurg (mdf) карга karga crane
(et) peni (mdf) пине pine dog
(et) hiir (mdf) шеер šeer mouse
(et) kala (mdf) кал kal fish
(et) sääsk (mdf) сяське säs'ke mosquito
(et) nool (mdf) нал nal arrow
(et) uut* (mdf) од od new
(et) all (mdf) ала ala below
(et) põlema (mdf) паломс paloms burn
(et) sulama (mdf) соламс solams melt
(et) vajuma (mdf) ваямс vajams sink
(et) kasvama (mdf) касомс kasoms grow
(et) neelama (mdf) нилемс nilems swallow
(et) sulgema (mdf) сёлгомс sjolgoms shut, close
(et) ujuma (mdf) уемс ujems swim
(et) siduma (mdf) сотомс sotoms tie
(et) peksma (mdf) пиксомс piksoms lash, hit
(et) pelgama (mdf) пелемс pelems dread, fear
(et) kuduma (mdf) кодамс kodams knit
(et) kandma (mdf) кандомс kandoms carry

*Estonian word is in the partitive singular.
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri

Linguaphile
Posts:5355
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Cognates and semantic shifts

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-06-02, 0:57

Some close cognates between Estonian and Meadow Mari:

(et) kätt* (mhr) кид kid hand, arm
(et) jalg (mhr) йол jol foot, leg
(et) veri (mhr) вӱр vür blood
(et) soon (mhr) шӧн šön vein
(et) luu (mhr) лу lu bone
(et) maks (mhr) мокш mokš liver
(et) vett* (mhr) вӱд vüd' water
(et) muna (mhr) муно muno egg
(et) järv (mhr) ер jer lake
(et) tuli (mhr) тул tul fire
(et) lumi (mhr) лум lum snow
(et) pilv (mhr) пыл põl cloud
(et) oks (mhr) укш ukš branch
(et) kuus (mhr) кож kož fir
(et) pesa (mhr) пыжаш põžaš nest
(et) kala (mhr) кол kol fish
(et) täi (mhr) тий tij louse
(et) pool (mhr) пел pel half
(et) jumal (mhr) юмо jumo god
(et) elada (mhr) илаш ilaš live
(et) kuulda (mhr) колаш kolaš hear
(et) kuulatada (mhr) колышташ kolõštaš listen
(et) jüüa (mhr) йӱаш jüaš drink
(et) neelata (mhr) нелаш nelaš swallow
(et) sulada (mhr) шулаш šulaš thaw
(et) külmuda (mhr) кылмаш kõlmaš freeze

*Estonian word is in the partitive singular.
Sono di continuo a caccia di parole. Descriverei il processo così: Ogni giorno entro in un bosco con un cestino in mano. Trovo le parole tutt'attorno: sugli alberi, nei cespugli, per terra (in realtà: per la strada, durante la conversazioni, mentre leggo). Ne raccolgo quante più possibile. -Jhumpa Lahiri


Return to “Uralic Languages”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests