Etymology Essay on a Hapax Example of Şekirtük Expression in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk

Abstract

Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk (DLT), written by Kâşgarlı Mahmud in the 11th century, is an important masterpiece reflecting the richness of the Turkish language and the cultural heritage of the medieval Turkish world. This comprehensive work examines in detail the vocabulary of the Turkish of the period, the grammatical rules and the differences between dialects. Kâşgarlı meticulously analysed the grammatical structures of the language and explained these rules systematically for the first time. In the work, rich information on word definitions, meanings, usage and origins is given, and mythological and historical elements are also dealt with in a comprehensive manner. In this study, the word şekirtük, which is a ‘hapax legomenon’ in DLT and appears for the first time with the meaning of ‘pistachio’, is discussed in detail. The etymological analysis of the word is supported by the analysis of its usage in historical and contemporary dialects. There are various opinions about the etymology of the word. The first opinion we will give about the etymology of the word çekirdek argues that the word derives from the word çigir (~şiGir), while the second opinion is based on the idea that the word derives from the word çiğit of Turkish origin. The third opinion is that the word derives from the Iranian word çiğit. In this study, evaluations on these three different views will be presented and our view of the origin of the word and our etymological analysis proposal will be emphasised.