The Language of the Thracians, Ivan Duridanov

V. The Thracian vocabulary

The reconstructed (mainly from nouns and adjectives) 180 Thracian words, together with the 23 words, explicitly characterized as Thracian, is all we have from the Thracian language.

Here are listed these 180 reconstructed words:
( H = hydronym; RN = river name; VN = village name; PN = place name)

achel-water (noun), water (adj.)’ [Lith. H Akl, Phryg. akala ‘water’].

aiz-a goat’ [Armen. aic, Greek aix].

ala current, stream’ [Latv. H Alaja, Lith. al'ti ‘flooded’].

alta(s)current, stream’ [Illyrian RN Altus, Russ. (from Balt.) RN Alta].

an(a)at, on’ [Avest. ana ‘along’, Greek aná ‘at, along’, Goth. ana ‘at, towards’].

ang- curved, twisting’ [Old-Ind. ancati ‘a curve’, Greek ankos ‘valley, abyss’].

ant(i)against’ [Old-Ind. ánti ‘against, nearby, the Lith. añt ‘towards, against’, Toch. nt ‘through’, Greek antí ‘against’, etc.].

apa, aphus water, river; a spring’ [Old-Pruss. ape ‘river’, apus ‘spring’, Old-Ind. p- ‘water’].

apsaaspen’ [Altin apse ‘aspen’, Old-Pruss. abse, Pol. osa (from Proto-Slavic *aps), Old-HighGerman aspa ‘aspen’].

armaswamp, bog’ [Lith. arma ‘bog, puddle’, armuõ, -eñs ‘the same’].

ars-to flow; current, river’ [Old-Pruss. RN Arsio, Arse, Old-Ind. árati ‘to flow’, Hett. ar- ‘the same’].

arta(s), arda(s)current. river’ [Old-Ind. árdati ‘to flow’, Greek ard ‘to bedew’].

arzaswhite’ [Greek argós ‘white’, Toch. A rki-, B rkwi- ‘white’, Hett. kar-ki-is ‘white’].

asa(s)stone’, as(a)mstony’ [Old-Ind. as’man ‘stone; heaven’, Avest. asman- ‘the same’, Pelasg. asáminthos (stone) bath’, Lith. akmuõ, -eñs ‘stone’].

atat, towards’ [Latv. ad ‘at, towards’, Old-Icel. at ‘at, opposite to’].

ath-high, steep coast, a hill’ [Greek akt ‘steep coast, peninsula, cape’].

at(u) current, stream’ [Latv. RN Adula, German Attel, Avest. adu- ‘current, stream, channel’].

bebrusbeaver’ [Lith. bebrus ‘beaver’, Old-Pruss. bbrus, Bulg. VN Bebrovo, Old-HighGerman bibar, etc.].

bend-to bind’ [Old-Ind. bándhana- ‘binding’, Avest. bandayaiti ‘to bind’, Goth, Anglo-Saxon bindan, German binden ‘to bind’].

berasbrown, swarthy’ [Lith. b'ras ‘brown’, Latv. brs ‘the same’, Old-HighGerman bero ‘a bear’ (initially ‘brown’)].

berga(s)hill, bank’ [Old-Icel. berg ‘mountain’, Old-HighGerman berg, German Berg ‘mountain’, Old-Bulg. breg, New-Bulg. brjag ‘bank, coast’].

berza(s)birch’ [Lith. béras, Latv. brzs, dial. bêrza, Old-Pruss. berse, Russ. berëza, Bulg. breza ‘birch’].

bredaspasture-ground’ [Russ. bred, bredina ‘pasture’, bresti, bredu ‘to cross by a ford’, Balt. (Zhemait.) RN Bred-upja].

brentas (brendas) ‘deer’ [Messap. bréndon ‘deer’].

brink-to swell’ [Lith. brìnkti [brìnkstu) ‘to swell’, Pol. na-brekac' ‘the same’].

bruzasquick’ [Lith. brùas ‘somebody who runs to and fro’, the Slavic *brz, Bulg. brz].

bur, buris (boris) ‘man’ [Alb. burrë ‘man’].

burt- (burd-)  ‘a ford’ [Slavic *brod, Bulg. brod ‘a ford’].

bzasa goat’ [Avest. bza- ‘a goat’].

chalasmud’ [Old-Bulg. kal, New-Bulg. kal ‘mud’, Czech kal ‘swamp; mud. soft soil’].

damasettlement, place for settling’ [Old-Ind. dhman- ‘place for dwelling’, Greek thaimós ‘house’].

daphasa flood’ [Lith. dãpas ‘a flood’, Norw. dial. dave ‘puddle, pool’].

darsas (dersas) ‘brave, courageous’ [Old-Pruss. dyrsos (pl.) ‘able, brave’, Avest. daryu- ‘brave, strong’].

datan (datas) ‘place, settlement’ [Alb. datë ‘place, settlement].

dentu-clan, tribe’ [Latv. gens ‘clan, tribe’].

desa(s), disa(s)deity, god’ [Greek théos ‘god’].

dingafertile  ground’ [Latv. dinga ‘fertile place’,  Old-Icel. dyngia ‘dunghill’].

dizafortress’ [Avest. uz-daza ‘a heaping, a fortification’, Old-Pers. did, New-Pers. diz, dz ‘fortress’].

dnplace, country(side)’ [Old-Ir. d, Gen. don ‘place, country(side)’, Greek chthn ‘soil, land’].

drenisdeer’ [Alb.  Geg dre, dreni ‘deer’].

dumasdark’ [Lith. d'mas ‘dark, dark brown (for cattle)’, Latv. dms ‘dark brown’].

dn-hill, mountain’ [Anglo-Saxon dn hill, mountain’, German Düne ‘dune’].

e(i)b-to flow, to drip’ [Pelasg. eib ‘to drip, to flow (out)’].

ermasfierce, mad’ [Alb. jerm ‘furious, mad’].

esvas (ezvas) ‘horse’ [Old-Ind. ás’va-h ‘horse’, Avest. aspa- ‘the same’, Latin equus, etc.].

gaidrusbright, clear’ [Lith. gaidrùs ‘bright, clear (cloudless)’, Greek phaidrós ‘shining, bright, cheerful’].

gava(s) county, countryside’ [Goth. gawi ‘county’, pre-Greek gaia, Att. g ‘land, region’].

germaswarm, hot’ [Old-Ind. gharmá- ‘heat’, Armen. j^erm’warm’, Greek thermós ‘the same’].

gesastork kingfisher’ [Old-Pruss. geeyse ‘kingfisher’, Latv. dzse ‘heron, kingfisher’].

gin-to languish, to spoil, to dry out’ [Old-Kurian Ginulle (a stream), Latv. g'nins ‘to spoil, to languish’].

haimos (-on), *saimas (-an)ridge, mountain chain’ [Old-Ind. simán- ‘ridge, boundary’, Irish sm ‘chain’].

ida (ide) ‘tree; forest’ [Old-Ir. fid, Gen. fedo ‘tree, trees, forest’].

iet(e)r (=jeter-) ‘quick, agile’ [Old-HighGerman tar ‘quick’, Latv. ãtrs ‘quick’].

l(u)-silt, mud’ [Greek lys, -os ‘mud, silt’, Church Slavic il ‘the same’].

iras (=jras) ‘water, river’ [Lith. j'ra ‘a sea’, Old-Nord. r ‘drizzle’].

kaba(s)bog, swamp’ [Engl. quab].

kalasdistrict, border region’ [Lith. gãlas ‘end, border of a field, meadow or forest’, Latv. gals ‘neighbourhood’].

kalsasdry, dried up’ [Latv. kálst (-stu, -tu) ‘to dry up, to wither’].

kapashill, slope’ [Latv. kãpa, kape ‘long mountain strip, dune, slope’, Lith. kopà ‘and hill, dune’].

kel(l)aa spring’ [Old-HighGerman quella, German Quelle ‘a spring’].

kenthasa child, descendant’ [Latv. re-cens ‘fresh, young, new’, with another suffix in the New-Bulg chedo ‘a child’].

kersasblack’ [Lith. kéras ‘on black and white spots’, Bulg. cheren ‘black’, Old-Ind. krsná ‘black, dark’].

ketri-, ketre-four’ [Greek tetra ‘four’, Cymr. pedry- ‘four-fold’, Lith. keturì, Latv. etri, Bulg. etiri ‘four’].

kik-live, agile’ [Anglo-Saxon cwicu, Old-Nord. kvikr, kykr ‘live, agile’, Engl. quick].

kiri- [or kira] ‘mountain’, ‘forest’ [Old-Ind. girí-h ‘mountain’, Avest. gairi- ‘the same’, Lith. girià, gìre ‘forest, wood’. Latv. dzia ‘forest’].

knisa(s)eroded place’ [Lith. knìsti ‘to dig’].

kupselaa heap, a hillock’ [Lith. kupslis ‘heap, hillock’].

kurp-to burrow’ [Lith. kupti (-iù) ‘to burrow’, Russ. korpat’ ‘to burrow’].

kurtagroove, wood’ [Old-Pruss. korto ‘groove’ from the Baltic *kurt].

laza (-as) ‘clearing (in forest), glade’ [Serbo-Croat läz ‘clearing’, Russ. laz ‘animal pathway to a river (lake)’, lazina ‘clearing’].

lingasdepression, meadow’ [Lith. lénge ‘low land’, PN Linge, Bulg. long ‘meadow’].

mar-water, river, bog’ [Anglo-Saxon merisc ‘swamp’, Old-Icel. mørr ‘swampy country’].

markabog; swampy country’ [Lith. markà ‘a pit for steeping flax or hemp’, Ukrain. morokva ‘bog’].

melda(s)marshy reed’ [Lith. meldà, méldas ‘marsh reed’, Latv. meldi ‘reed’, Old-HighGerman melta].

mr-large, great’ [Church Slavic personal name Vladi-mer, Old-HighGerman Volk-mr, Hlodo-mr, Old-Icel. mr ‘big’].

meznaa horseman’ [Alb. mes, mezi ‘stallion’, Roman. (substrat) mînz ‘stallion’].

mukaseed, clan, posterity’ [Iran. muka- in the Osset. mugæ ‘family’, muggag ‘seed, clan’].

mukasswampy country, a bog’ [Latv. muka ‘swamp, where one can sink’, mukls ‘swampy’, Lith. RN Mk].

musasmoss, mould’ [Old-HighGerman, Anglo-Saxon mos ‘moss, swamp’, German Moss ‘moss’, Church-Slav. mh ‘moss’, Lith. musai, pl. ‘mould on yoghourt’].

nest-rumbling, roaring’ [Old-Ind. nádati ‘to rumlble, to roar’, nadi- ‘river, current’].

stas river mouth’ [Lith. úostas, uostà ‘river mouth; a port’, Latv. uosts-, uosta ‘the same’, Latin stium ‘river mouth’, Old-Bulg. uostije ‘the same’].

pa(i)vischild, son’ [Greek Homer pavis, Att. paus, pais].

paisa(s) soot’ [Lith. paiai ‘soot’].

palaswamp, bog’ [Lith. pãlios, pl. ‘big swamp. bog’, Latv. paas, pai ‘swampy banks of a lake’, Latin palus ‘lake’].

palmaswamp, bog’ [from pala with the suffix -m].

pan(i)swamp, quagmire, peat-bog’ [Old-Pruss. pannean ‘quagmire’, Goth. fani ‘silt’, etc.].

para, pharasettlement, village’ [from the IE *(s)por as ‘village’].

pauta(s)foam’ or ‘foaming’ [Old-Pruss. RN Pauta, Lith. putà ‘foam’, putóti ‘to foam’, Latv. putas ‘foam’].

perboy, son’ [Lat. puer ‘child, boy, son’].

per(u)-a rock’ [Hett. peruna- ‘a rock’, Old-Ind. párvata- ‘mountain’].

ps boy, child’ [Greek paus, pais ‘child’, Cypr. pas ‘the same’].

piza(s)bog, meadow’ [Latv. psa ‘deep swamp’, Greek psea, pl. ‘damp places, meadow’].

pras- (resp. *praus-) ‘to wash, to splash, to bedew’ [Lith. prasti ‘to wash, to sprinkle’, Latv. prauslat ’to splash, to besprinkle’, Old-Ind. prusn'ti ‘to splash’].

puis, pus, pyschild, son’ [-pu(i)s = Greek Att. paus ‘child, son’].

pupabeans’ or ‘hill’ (?) [Lith. pupà ‘beans’ or Alb. pupë ‘hill’].

pura-maize, spelt’ [Greek pyrós ‘maize’, Lith. prai ‘winter maize’, Church Slavic piro ‘spelt’].

purdaswampy, damp place’ [Latv. purdui ‘a snivel’, Greek pardakos ‘damp, wet’].

puris, poris, por, pyris, pyros, pyrson, boy’ [Latin pure ‘child, boy, son’ in Latin PN Marci-por, Nae-por, li-por, Etr. nei-pur, naei-purs].

pus, pyschild, son’ - see puis.

pusinasspruce forest, pine forest’ [Lith. punas ‘spruce forest’ from puìs ‘pine, spruce’].

putrasbawler, squaller, babbler’ [Old-Latv. personal name Putre, Latv. putruôt, putrât ‘to cry, to speak fast’].

raimasmotley’ [Lith. ráimas ‘motley, particoloured’].

raka(s) ‘eroded place, a gully’ [Lith. ràkti ‘to burrow’].

ramusquiet, calm’ [Lith. ramùs ‘quiet’, Old-Ind. rámate ‘to stay quiet, to rest’].

raskusquick, agile, live’ [Old-HighGerman rasc ‘quick’, German rasch ‘the same’, Engl. rash].

rerastones, stony ground’ (from an earlier *lera) [Alb. lerë, -a ‘stones, fallen stones’].

rzas (resas) ‘king’ [Latin rex ‘king’, Old-Ind. raj- ‘the same’].

ring- (rink-) ‘quick, skillful’ [Old-HighGerman (ge)-ringi ‘light’, Middle-German ge-ringi ‘light. quick’, Greek rhimpha  ‘quickly, skillfully’].

rudasred, reddish’ [Lith. RN Rùd-up, adj. rùdas ‘(red-) brown, reddish’, Latv. ruds ‘reddish’].

rumba(s)edge; rapids’ [Lith. rubas ‘periphery’, Latv. ruba ‘waterfall, rapids’].

rs-a (-as, -is) ‘a pit’ or rus-slowly flowing’ [Old-Pruss. PN Russe (a village and a swamp), Lith. rss (and rúsas) ‘potatoe’s pit; hut’, Latv. rsa ‘pit; or the Litv. rus'ti ‘to flow slowly’].

sabazias free’ [Old-Bulg. svobod ‘free’].

saldas (instead of *zaldas) ‘golden’ [Old-Bulg. zlato (from the Proto-Slavic *zlt) ‘gold (noun)’ , New-Bulg. zlato ‘gold’, zlaten ‘golden’].

saracurrent, stream’ [Old-Ind. sar' ‘river, stream’].

sartaslight-red’ [Lith. satas ‘light-red (for horses)’, Latv. sarts ‘red’].

satras (satrus) ‘live, quick, agile’ (?) [Lith. atrùs ‘live, quick, agile, row’].

saut-is (-as) ‘lazy’ [Latv. sautis ‘lazy man, who sleeps all the time’].

sei(e)tuvadeep place in the river’ [Lith. sietuvà ‘deep place in the river’].

seina(s)village, settlement’ [Armen. n, Gen. sini ‘village’, Greek Rhod. kroina ‘residence’].

skasgrass, greenery; hay’ [Lith. 'kas ‘recently mowed down grass’, Old-Ind. s'ka- ‘vegetable’].

sem(e)la (= zeml’a) ‘land, earth’ [Old-Bulg. zemlja, Russ. zemlja, Lith. zeme, Latv. zeme].

serma, sermascurrent, stream’ [Old-Ind. sárma-h ‘current’, Lith. RN Sérmas].

siltaswarm, pleasant’ [Lith. itas ‘warm, pleasant’, Latv. sìlts ‘warm’, Cymr. clyd ‘warm, warming’].

sind(u)-river’ [Old-Ind. sindhu- ‘river’, Old-Pers. hindus ‘the same’].

singaslow land, depression’ [Goth. sigqan, Old-HighGerman sinkan, German sinken ‘to sink, to collapse’].

skaivasleft’ [Greek skaiós ‘left’, Latin scaevus ‘the same’].

skalp-to beetle, to hit’ [Lith. skabti (-biù, -bia) ‘to beetle, to dolly (for laundry)’].

skaplisaxe’ [Lith. skãplis ‘axe’].

skapt-to dig’ [Lith. skaptúoti ‘to cut, to carve (in wood)’, Greek skápto ‘to dig’].

skaras (-is) ‘quick’ [Old-Bulg. skor, Russ. skorj ‘quick’, etc. (Proto-Slavic *skar)].

skarsastransverse, slanting’ [the Greek en-kársios, epi-kársis ‘curved, bent, transverse’, Lith. skesas ‘transverse, oblique].

skilasquick, impetuous’ [Lith. skìlti ‘set fire’ and ‘run mad’]

skretacircle, circumference’ [Lith. skret' ‘a (round) disk’, skrìt ‘circumference’].

skumbr-as (or -is) ‘hill, mountain’ [Lith. kumbrs, kubris ‘hillock, hill, mountain peak, small mountain’].

spinda(s)clearing (in the forest)’ [Lith spiñdis ‘clearing in the forest’].

stra (from an earlier *strava) ‘current, torrent’ [Lith. sravà ‘current’, Latv. strava ‘current, torrent’].

strambasstubble-field’ [Old-Pruss. strambo ‘stubble-field’, the Latv. strùobs ‘a spray, a stem, a straw’ ].

strum, strumncurrent, river’ [Old-HighGerman stroum, German Strom ‘current’ river’, Lith. sraumuõ, -eñs ‘fast current’, srti (srvù, dial. srnù) ‘to fill with water’ and ‘to flow, to outflow the banks (for a river)’].

strnacurrent, river’ [Lith. sriti ‘to fill with water, to outflow’].

stur(ia)country, countryside’ [Old-Bulg strana (Proto-Slavic *strn) ‘country’, Bulg. pro-stor ‘expanse, space’].

suchis, sukis, suku(s) (-os) ‘girl’, resp. ‘boy, juvenile’ [Cymr. hogen ‘girl’, hogyn ‘boy, lad’, Lith. snùs ‘son’, Old-Bulg. sin ‘son’, etc.].

sukaa crack, a gorge, a pass’, [Lith. ùk ‘a gap, a crack’].

sulagroove’ [Greek hle ‘forest, groove’].

sunkasap, fluid’ [Lith. sunkà ‘sap (of a tree); fluid’].

sura (zura) ‘current, stream’ [Old-Ind. sir' ‘current. stream’].

surasstrong, brave; a hero’ [Old-Ind. s'ra-h ‘a hero, a warrior’, Avest. s'ra- ‘brave, courageous; a hero’].

surassalty, bitter’ [Lith. s'ras ‘salty’, Latv. srs ‘salty, bitter, sour’].

svit- to shine, to twinkle’ [Lith. vit'ti ‘to shine, to twinkle’, Old-Bulg. svteti sia) ‘to shine’].

tarpas, terpasa gap, a crack’ [Lith. tárpas, térp ‘an interstice, a crack’, Proto-Slavic *tarp ‘a pit, a ditch’].

taru-spear’ [Greek dóry ‘tree’ and ‘spear’, Hett. ta-ru- ‘tree, trees’, Old-Ind. dáru- ‘tree’].

thin-to hold, to carry’ [Latin tene, -ere ‘to hold’].

thurd-to crash, to collapse’ [Old-HighGerman sturzen, German stürzen ‘to overthrow, to fall’].

tirsasthicket’ [Lith. titis ‘density, thickness’ and ‘thicket, brush-wood’, titi (titù) ‘to thicken’].

tithalight, radiance’ [Greek tit' ‘morning glow; morning, day’, Alb. ditë ‘day’].

tranasrotting’ [Lith. RN Trans, tren'ti ‘to rot, to decompose’].

traus-to break, to crumble’ [Lith. trauti ‘to break, to crumble’, traus ‘brittle’, the Latv. trauss, trausls ‘brittle, fragile’, Old-Russ. troh ‘lazy; sad’].

tund- 1. ‘to push, to knock’; 2. ‘river’ [1. Latin tund, -ere ‘to push, to knock’, Old-Ind. tundat ‘to push’. 2. Old-Icel. þund ‘river’].

tuntasa flock, a flight; a heap’ [Lith. tuñtas ‘a flock, a flight; a heap, a pile’].

turm-a run, a flight’ [Old-Ind. drámati ‘to run’, Greek drómos ‘a run’].

udra(s)otter’ [Old-Ind. udrá-h ‘water animal’, Avest. udra- ‘otter’, Greek hy’dros, Old-HighGerman ottar, Lith. údra, Bulg. vidra ‘otter’].

udrnaswater, aquatic’ [Greek hydrinós ‘referring to water, water’, án-ydros ‘waterless’].

kasmist; misty, turbid’ [Lith. kas ‘a mist; clouding; fume, vapour’, 'kanas ‘cloudy, turbid’].

upariver’ [Lith. ùp ‘river’, Latv. upe ‘river, stream’].

urda(s)stream’ [Lith. urduls ‘(mountain) stream, pool’, Latv. urdavia ‘stream’].

usku-water; aquatic, marshy’ [Old-Ir. u(i)sce ‘water’, Old-Cymr uisc, Irish esc ‘water, bog, swamp’].

ut- water, river’ [Old-Ind. ud-án- ‘water’, Greek hydos ‘the same’].

vair-as (-us) ‘spinning’ [Lith. vairùs, vairas ‘spinning’, Swed. vrr ‘a spiral’].

varpasaswhirlpool’ [Latv. vrpats ‘whirlpool’, the Lith. varpti (-pau, -piau) ‘to dig, to burrow’].

veger- (resp. *veker-) ‘damp; to bedew’ or ‘haymowing’ [Dutch wak ‘damp’, Latv. vedzere etc.].

veleka(s)place for washing’ [Lith. velkles ‘a place, used for washing’, vel'ti ‘to wash (with a paddle)’].

ver- to spring, to issue’ [Lith. vírti (vérdu, viria) ‘to boil, to bubble’, the Old-Bulg. vreti vrion ‘to spring, to boil’].

verza(s)a barrier used for fishing; dam’ [Latv. varza ‘dam’].

zbel- (from an initial *zibel-) ‘shining; a thunderbolt, a lightning’ [Latv. zibele ‘shining’, zibelêt ‘to flash, to twinkle, to shine’].

zburul-light (noun); shining’ [Lith. iburs ‘light’ (noun)’].

zelmisan offspring, descendant’ [Lith. elmuõ, -eñs ‘plant’ and ‘an offspring’].

zenis, zensborn, born in’ [=genes in the Greek personal name of Dio=génes, from the IE *gen’- ‘to give birth’ in the Old-Latin geno ‘to produce, to give birth’].

zri- (from an earlier *zvri-) ‘an animal, a beast’ [Lith. vris ‘a beast’, Old-Bulg. zver ‘the same’, Greek thr].

zi-god’ [shortened from ziu-, zia- and similar, Greek Zeus].

zilasgrey,  turned grey’ or ‘blue’ [Lith. ìlas ‘grey-haired’, Latv. zils, zil ‘blue’].

zilma(s) greenery’ [Latv. zelme ‘green grass or wheat’].

zum-, zuml-dragon’ [Old-Bulg zmi ‘dragon’, zmia ‘snake’].

zvaka(s)bright, white’ [Lith. vãk ‘light (noun)’].

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