Thracian language
Encyclopedia
The Thracian language was the Indo-European language spoken in ancient times in Southeastern Europe by the Thracians
, the northern neighbors of the Ancient Greeks. The Thracian language exhibits satemization: it either belonged to the Satem group of Indo-European languages or it was strongly influenced by Satem languages. The language, of which little is known from written sources was extinct by the Early Middle Ages
.
(either because it may have been a distinct Thracic language, or because, as some linguists hypothesize, it was a different branch of Indo-European) the Thracian language was spoken in what is now the southern half of Bulgaria
, eastern Republic of Macedonia
, Northern Greece, European Turkey
and in parts of Bithynia
(North-Western Asiatic Turkey).
Eastern Serbia
is usually considered by paleolinguists to have been a Daco-Moesian
language area. Moesi
an (after Vladimir Georgiev
et al.) is grouped with Dacian.
Below is a table showing both words cited as being Thracian in classical sources, and lexical elements that have been extracted by paleolinguists from Thracian anthroponyms, toponyms, etc. In this table the closest cognates are shown, with an emphasis on cognates in Albanian
, Baltic
, Slavic
, Greek
, and substratum and/or old-layer words in the Eastern Romance languages
: Romanian
, Aromanian
, et cetera. See also the List of reconstructed Dacian words.
Significant cognates from any Indo-European language are listed. However, not all lexical items in Thracian are assumed to be from the Proto-Indo-European
language, some non-IE lexical items in Thracian are to be expected.
The proposed Thracian words in the Ancient Greek
lexicon are not numerous. They include the parth- element in Parthenon
; balios ("dappled"; < PIE *bhel-, "to shine"; Pokorny
also cites Illyrian as a possible source, the non-Greek origin is argued on phonological grounds), bounos, "hill, mound".
The Thracian horseman
hero was an important figure in Thracian religion, mythology, and culture. Depictions of the Thracian Horseman are found in numerous archaeological remains and artifacts from Thracian regions. From the Duvanli ring and from cognates in numerous Indo-European languages, mezēna is seen to be a Thracian word for "horse", deriving from PIE *mend-. Another Thracian word for "horse" is hypothesized, but it looks certain, there is no disagreement among Thracologists: aspios, esvas, asb- (and some other variants;*ekwo , the Thracian showing a satem form similar to Sanskrit açva or áśva-, "horse", Avestan
aspa, "horse", Ossetic jäfs, Prussian aswinan ‘mare milk’, Lituanian ašvíenis ‘stallion’, ašvà, dial. ešvà ‘mare’ ), from Outaspios, Utaspios, an inscription associated with the Thracian horseman. Ut- based on the PIE root word ud- (meaning "up") and based on several Thracic items, would have meant "upon", "up", and Utaspios is theorized to have meant "On horse(back)", parallel to ancient Greek epi-hippos.
The early Indo-European languages had more than one word for horse
; for example Latin had equus from PIE *ekwo- and mannus ("a pony") from another IE root, later receiving cabalus as a loanword.
In many cases in current Thracology, there is more than one etymology for a Thracian lexical item. For example, Thracian Diana Germetitha (Diana is from Latin while the epithet
Germetitha is from Thracian) has two different proposed etymologies, "Diana of the warm bosom" (Olteanu; et al.?) or "Diana of the warm radiance" (Georgiev; et al.?). In other cases, etymologies for the Thracian lexical items may be sound, but some of the proposed cognates are not actually cognates, thus confusing the affinity of Thracian.
. The ring was dated to the 5th century BC. On the ring is an inscription written in a Greek script which says:
The meaning of the inscription is not known, and it bears no resemblance to any known language.
A second inscription was found in 1965 near the village of Kyolmen, Preslav
district, dating to the 6th century BC. It consists of 56 letters of the Greek alphabet, probably a tomb stele inscription similar to the Phrygian ones:
A third inscription is again on a ring, found in Duvanli, Plovdiv
district, next to the left hand of a skeleton. It dates to the 5th century BC. The ring has the image of a horseman
with the inscription surrounding the image. It is only partly legible (16 out of the initial 21)
These are the longest inscriptions preserved. The remaining ones are mostly single words or names on vessels and other artifacts.
or Phrygian
. The belief that Thracian was close to Phrygian is no longer popular and has mostly been discarded. The Thraco-Illyrian grouping has also been called into question, but remains as one of the main hypotheses. Daco-Thracian or Thraco-Dacian is the main hypothesis .
Thracian/Daco-Thracian/Thraco-Dacian in turn has been hypothesized as forming a branch of Indo-European along with either Albanian or Baltic or Balto-Slavic or Greco-Macedonian . No definite evidence has yet been found that demonstrates that Thracian or Daco-Thracian belonged on the same branch as Albanian or Baltic or Balto-Slavic or Greco-Macedonian or Phrygian or any other IE branch. For this reason textbooks still treat Thracian as its own branch of Indo-European, or as a Daco-Thracian/Thraco-Dacian branch.
The generally accepted subfamilies (clades) that branched from the Proto-Indo-European language
are, in alphabetical order, the Proto-Albanian language, Proto-Anatolian language
, Proto-Armenian language
, Proto-Balto-Slavic language
, Proto-Celtic language
,
Proto-Germanic language
, Proto-Greek language
, Proto-Indo-Iranian language
, Proto-Italic language, Proto-Slavic language
, and the Proto-Tocharian language. Thracian, Dacian, Phrygian, Illyrian, Venetic, and Paeonian are fragmentarily attested.
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
, the northern neighbors of the Ancient Greeks. The Thracian language exhibits satemization: it either belonged to the Satem group of Indo-European languages or it was strongly influenced by Satem languages. The language, of which little is known from written sources was extinct by the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
.
Geographic distribution
Excluding DacianDacian language
The extinct Dacian language may have developed from proto-Indo-European in the Carpathian region around 2,500 BC and probably died out by AD 600. In the 1st century AD, it was the predominant language of the ancient regions of Dacia and Moesia and, possibly, of some surrounding regions.It belonged...
(either because it may have been a distinct Thracic language, or because, as some linguists hypothesize, it was a different branch of Indo-European) the Thracian language was spoken in what is now the southern half of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, eastern Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Northern Greece, European Turkey
East Thrace
East Thrace or Eastern Thrace , also known as Turkish Thrace, is the part of the modern republic of Turkey that is geographically part of Europe, all in the eastern part of the historical region of Thrace; most of Turkey is in Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor. Turkish Thrace is also called...
and in parts of Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
(North-Western Asiatic Turkey).
Eastern Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
is usually considered by paleolinguists to have been a Daco-Moesian
Dacian language
The extinct Dacian language may have developed from proto-Indo-European in the Carpathian region around 2,500 BC and probably died out by AD 600. In the 1st century AD, it was the predominant language of the ancient regions of Dacia and Moesia and, possibly, of some surrounding regions.It belonged...
language area. Moesi
Moesi
The Moesi were a Daco-Thracian tribe who inhabited present day Serbia and Bulgaria, part of the then Roman province of Moesia, which was named after them in 87 AD by the Romans after the Romans under Crassus defeated them in the 29 BC.- History :...
an (after Vladimir Georgiev
Vladimir Georgiev
Vladimir Georgiev may refer to:* Vladimir I. Georgiev, Bulgarian linguist, philologist, and educational administrator* Vladimir Georgiev , Bulgarian chess player...
et al.) is grouped with Dacian.
Remnants of the Thracian language
Little is known for certain about the Thracian language, since no phrase beyond several words in length has been satisfactorily deciphered, and the sounder decipherments given for the shorter phrases may not be completely accurate. Some of the longer inscriptions may indeed be Thracian in origin but they may not reflect actual Thracian language sentences, but rather jumbles of names or magical formulas. Enough Thracian lexical items have survived to show that Thracian was a member of the Indo-European language family and that it was a satemized language by the time it is attested. Besides the aforementioned inscriptions, Thracian is attested through anthroponyms, toponyms (toponyms includes settlements as well as mountain names/oronyms, river and lake names and other bodies of water/hydronyms), plant names, names of deities (theonyms), etc., and by a small number of words cited in Ancient Greek texts as being specifically Thracian. Other ancient Greek lexical items were not specifically identified as Thracian by the ancient Greeks but are hypothesized by paleolinguists as being or probably being of Thracian origin. Other lexical items are hypothesized on the basis of local anthroponyms, toponyms, hydronyms, oronyms, etc. mentioned in primary sources (see also List of ancient cities in Thrace and Dacia, List of Dacian plant names) .Below is a table showing both words cited as being Thracian in classical sources, and lexical elements that have been extracted by paleolinguists from Thracian anthroponyms, toponyms, etc. In this table the closest cognates are shown, with an emphasis on cognates in Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
, Baltic
Baltic languages
The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe...
, Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, and substratum and/or old-layer words in the Eastern Romance languages
Eastern Romance languages
The Eastern Romance languages in their narrow conception, sometimes known as the Vlach languages, are a group of Romance languages that developed in Southeastern Europe from the local eastern variant of Vulgar Latin. Some classifications include the Italo-Dalmatian languages; when Italian is...
: Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, Aromanian
Aromanian language
Aromanian , also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach is an Eastern Romance language spoken in Southeastern Europe...
, et cetera. See also the List of reconstructed Dacian words.
Significant cognates from any Indo-European language are listed. However, not all lexical items in Thracian are assumed to be from the Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European may refer to:*Proto-Indo-European language, the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages.*Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language....
language, some non-IE lexical items in Thracian are to be expected.
| attestation | English meaning | etymology Etymology Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during... | cognate Cognate In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g... s |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| alopekis | "cap" | |||
| asa | A Bessi Bessi The Bessi were an independent Thracian tribe who lived in a territory ranging from Moesia to Mount Rhodope in southern Thrace, but are often mentioned as dwelling about Haemus, the mountain range that separates Moesia from Thrace and from Mount Rhodope to the northern part of Hebrus... an word for the Coltsfoot Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara, commonly known as Coltsfoot, is a plant in the family Asteraceae.It has been used medicinally as a cough suppressant. The name "tussilago" itself means "cough suppressant." The plant has been used historically to treat lung ailments such as asthma as well as various coughs by way... |
|||
| aspios, esvas, asbe-, | "horse" | PIE *ekwo- | Sanskrit açva or áśva-, "horse", Avestan Avestan language Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name... aspa, "horse", Ossetic jäfs, Prussian aswinan ‘mare milk’, Lituanian ašvíenis ‘stallion’,ašvà, dial. ešvà ‘mare’ |
|
| bolinthos | "wild bull" | PIE *bhel-, "to swell" | English bull | |
| bria | "town, settlement" | 1) after Pokorny Julius Pokorny Julius Pokorny was an Austrian linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities.-Life:... , from PIE *wriyā. 2) Olteanu, PIE *gwer-, "heavy, strong" |
1) Mycenean rijo "promontory", Bulgarian rid RID RID may refer to:* Router ID* International Rule for Transport of Dangerous Substances by Railway* Isaiah ben Mali di Trani * Refractive index detector, a type of chromatography detector* Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf* Relative ID... "promontory", Greek ríon "id", Tocharian A ri, Tocharian B rīye "town". 2) Greek barus, "heavy" |
|
| bríloun | "barber" | PIE *bhrī-l | Old Church Slavonic briti "to shave", Old Irish brissim "I shatter", English brine, Latin friare "to rub, crumble", Albanian brej, brêj "to gnaw", Sanskrit bhrīn.anti "they injure, hurt" | |
| bríza | "emmer-wheat, rye" | 1) PIE *wrīg'h 2) PIE *breg'h | 1) Bulgarian brica "type of summer grain"; Sanskrit vrīhis "rice" 2) Norwegian brok "kind of grass" | |
| brynchos | "a string instrument, characterized as a Thracian kithara Kithara The kithara or cithara was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the lyre or lyra family. In modern Greek the word kithara has come to mean "guitar" .... " |
PIE *bhrm.kos | Greek (Aeolian Aeolic Greek Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia , Thessaly, and in the Aegean island of Lesbos and the Greek colonies of Asia Minor .... ) phórmynx; Romanian Romanian language Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova... broancă, "a stringed instrument"; Old Church Slavonic brękati "to make a noise", Polish brzęk "ringing, tinkle", Bulgarian brămči "a ringing sound", Russian brenčat "to play on a stringed instrument" |
|
| brytos, bryton, brutos, bryttion | "a kind of ale Ale Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste... made from barley Barley Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods... " |
PIE *bhrūto | English broth, Welsh brwd "brewage", Lat defrutum "must boiled down", Greek Greek language Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;... apéphrysen "to seethe, boil", Slavic Slavic languages The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic... vriti "to seethe, boil" vrutok "strong spring, boiling water", Sanskrit Sanskrit Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand... bhurati "he quivers", |
|
| deiza, disza, diza, dizos | "a fortified settlement" | PIE *dheigh-, "to knead clay" | Greek teichos ("wall"), Avestan daeza "wall", Slavic Slavic languages The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic... zidati, sozidati, (po)dizati "to build", English dough romanian "zid","wall" |
|
| dinupula, *sinupyla (reconstructed from a corrupted manuscript), kinoboila (Dacian) | "wild pumpkin" | Lithuanian šúnobuolas "wild pumpkin", Albanian Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece... thënukël "dogberry", Bulg. dinya, "watermelon", Polish dynia, "pumpkin" |
||
| embades | "boots" | |||
| génton | "meat" | PIE *gwhento "struck, cut" | Latin fendere "to strike, push", Old English gūth "combat", Welsh gwannu "to stab", Greek theínein "to strike, kill", Arm ganem "I strike", Sanskrit Sanskrit Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand... hánti "he strikes, kills", hatyá "stabbed, killed", Hittite kuenzi "he strikes", Old Church Slavonic žętva "harvest", žęteljĭ "harvester" |
|
| germe | "warm" | PIE *gwher-, "warm" | Greek thermos, "warm", Hindi gharam, "warm or hot", Persian gærm, "warm", Old Prussian gorme, "heat", Alb. Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece... zjarm, pl. dial. zjerm, zjermë, zjarme, "fire" |
|
| kalamindar | "Plane tree Platanus Platanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae.... " |
|||
| kemos | "a kind of fruit with follicles" | |||
| ktistai (pl.) | "Thracians living in celibacy, monks" | |||
| manteia | ||||
| mendruta | a Moesi Moesi The Moesi were a Daco-Thracian tribe who inhabited present day Serbia and Bulgaria, part of the then Roman province of Moesia, which was named after them in 87 AD by the Romans after the Romans under Crassus defeated them in the 29 BC.- History :... an name for the beet Beet The beet is a plant in the Chenopodiaceae family which is now included in Amaranthaceae family. It is best known in its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is the purple root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet... or alternatively the black hellebore, Veratrum nigrum Veratrum nigrum Veratrum nigrum is a coarse, highly poisonous perennial herb of the Melanthiaceae family. As is indicated by its name, the plant is not a hellebore , but from a closely related genus, Veratrum. The plant was widely known even in ancient times. For example, Lucretius Veratrum nigrum (or Black False... |
|||
| mezēnai ( |
"horseman" (while mezēna meant "horse") | Alb. Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece... mëz ("foal, colt"), Rom. Romanian language Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova... mânz ("foal, colt"), Messapian Messapian language Messapian is an extinct Indo-European language of South-eastern Italy, once spoken in the region of Apulia. It was spoken by the three Iapygian tribes of the region: the Messapians, the Dauni and the Peucetii.... Menzana, there are other cognates also |
||
| para, pera, peron | "town" | Sanskrit "pura" city, Old Prussian pera "group" peroni "parish, community" | ||
| rhomphaia Rhomphaia The Rhomphaia was a close combat bladed weapon used by the Thracians as early as 400 BC. Most rhomphaias were polearms, featuring a straight or slightly curved single-edged blade attached to a pole that was considerably shorter than the blade. Some rhomphaias had short handles that extended to... |
"a spear Spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or... "; later the meaning "sword Sword A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration... " is attested |
dialect Bul. Bulgarian language Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the... roféja, rufija "a thunderbolt", Alb. Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece... rrufë; Latin rumpere "to break, tear", Old English reofan "to tear, break" |
||
| sica Sica The sica was a short sword or large dagger of ancient Thracians/Dacians peoples, used in Ancient Rome too. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long and many examples have been found in what are today Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as... |
"short sword" or "knife", also cited as an Illyrian word | PIE *sek-, "to cut" | Albanian thikë (id., from earlier Albanian *sica), Latin secula "sickle", Old English sagu "saw" Old Romanian "şiş", "dagger" | |
| skálmē | "a knife, a sword" | PIE *skolmā | Old Norse skolm "short sword, knife", Serbian, Bulgarian kama for dagger | |
| skárke | "a coin Coin A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory.... " |
PIE *skerg "to jingle" | Old Norse skark "noise", Sanskrit kharjati "to creak, crunch", Serbian škripa krcka "creak, crunch", šarke old Serbian word for shiny | |
| spinos | "a stone which burns when water is poured on it" | Romanian "spin", "spine", "burr" | ||
| titha | from Diana Germetitha ("Diana of the warm bosom") | Olteanu (et al.?) interprets this lexical element as "bosom, breasts, tit(s)" | ancient Greek titthos, "breast, tit", West Germanic *titta (id.), Latin *titia (id.), Albanian thitha "nipples", Bulgarian "tsitsa", "breast" Romanian "ţâţă", "breast" | |
| torelle | "a lament, a song of mourning" | |||
| zalmós, zelmis | "a hide, skin" | PIE *k'elm, *k'olm | German Helm "helmet", Lith. šálmas, OPruss. salmis "helmet", OSl. šlĕmŭ, Skt. śárman "cover" | |
| zeira, zira | "tunic, cloak" (a type of upper garment) | |||
| zelas | "wine Wine Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast... " |
PIE *g'hēlo | Ancient Macedonian Ancient Macedonian language Ancient Macedonian was the language of the ancient Macedonians. It was spoken in the kingdom of Macedon during the 1st millennium BCE and it belongs to the Indo-European group of languages... kalithos, "wine", Sanskrit hālā "brandy", Greek khális "pure wine", Russian Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... zel'je "a fermented or witch's brew" |
|
| zetraía | "a pot" | PIE *g'heutr | Grk. Greek language Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;... khútra "pipkin" |
|
| zibythides | "noble Thracians" | Lith. zhibut "fire, light", Serb. Serbian language Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries.... šibica "a lightening stick", Bul. Bulgarian language Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the... šibam "to hit, to whip" . |
||
The proposed Thracian words in the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
lexicon are not numerous. They include the parth- element in Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
; balios ("dappled"; < PIE *bhel-, "to shine"; Pokorny
Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny was an Austrian linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities.-Life:...
also cites Illyrian as a possible source, the non-Greek origin is argued on phonological grounds), bounos, "hill, mound".
The Thracian horseman
Thracian horseman
Thracian horseman is the conventional term for a recurring motif from the iconography of Paleo-Balkanic mythology during the Roman era.The tradition is attested from Thrace to Moesia and Scythia Minor, also known as the "Thracian Heros", at Odessos attested by a Thracian name as Heros...
hero was an important figure in Thracian religion, mythology, and culture. Depictions of the Thracian Horseman are found in numerous archaeological remains and artifacts from Thracian regions. From the Duvanli ring and from cognates in numerous Indo-European languages, mezēna is seen to be a Thracian word for "horse", deriving from PIE *mend-. Another Thracian word for "horse" is hypothesized, but it looks certain, there is no disagreement among Thracologists: aspios, esvas, asb- (and some other variants;
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
aspa, "horse", Ossetic jäfs, Prussian aswinan ‘mare milk’, Lituanian ašvíenis ‘stallion’, ašvà, dial. ešvà ‘mare’ ), from Outaspios, Utaspios, an inscription associated with the Thracian horseman. Ut- based on the PIE root word ud- (meaning "up") and based on several Thracic items, would have meant "upon", "up", and Utaspios is theorized to have meant "On horse(back)", parallel to ancient Greek epi-hippos.
The early Indo-European languages had more than one word for horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
; for example Latin had equus from PIE *ekwo- and mannus ("a pony") from another IE root, later receiving cabalus as a loanword.
In many cases in current Thracology, there is more than one etymology for a Thracian lexical item. For example, Thracian Diana Germetitha (Diana is from Latin while the epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
Germetitha is from Thracian) has two different proposed etymologies, "Diana of the warm bosom" (Olteanu; et al.?) or "Diana of the warm radiance" (Georgiev; et al.?). In other cases, etymologies for the Thracian lexical items may be sound, but some of the proposed cognates are not actually cognates, thus confusing the affinity of Thracian.
Inscriptions
Only four Thracian inscriptions of any length have been found. One is a gold ring found in 1912 in the town of Ezerovo, BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. The ring was dated to the 5th century BC. On the ring is an inscription written in a Greek script which says:
- ΡΟΛΙΣΤΕΝΕΑΣΝ / ΕΡΕΝΕΑΤΙΛ / ΤΕΑΝΗΣΚΟΑ / ΡΑΖΕΑΔΟΜ / ΕΑΝΤΙΛΕΖΥ / ΠΤΑΜΙΗΕ / ΡΑΖ / ΗΛΤΑ
- rolisteneasn/ereneatil/teanēskoa/razeadom/eantilezu/ptamiēe/raz/ēlta
The meaning of the inscription is not known, and it bears no resemblance to any known language.
A second inscription was found in 1965 near the village of Kyolmen, Preslav
Preslav
Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...
district, dating to the 6th century BC. It consists of 56 letters of the Greek alphabet, probably a tomb stele inscription similar to the Phrygian ones:
- ΕΒΑΡ. ΖΕΣΑΣΝ ΗΝΕΤΕΣΑ ΙΓΕΚ. Α / ΝΒΛΑΒΑΗΓΝ / ΝΥΑΣΝΛΕΤΕΔΝΥΕΔΝΕΙΝΔΑΚΑΤΡ. Σ
- ebar. zesasn ēnetesa igek. a / nblabaēgn / nuasnletednuedneindakatr. s
A third inscription is again on a ring, found in Duvanli, Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
district, next to the left hand of a skeleton. It dates to the 5th century BC. The ring has the image of a horseman
Horseman
Horseman may refer to:* Horse rider; see Equestrianism* Wrangler , in the United States* Stockman , who works with horses rather than with cattle or sheep* Horseman, a 2003 Croatian film...
with the inscription surrounding the image. It is only partly legible (16 out of the initial 21)
- ΗΥΖΙΗ.....ΔΕΛΕ / ΜΕΖΗΝΑΙ
- ēuziē.....dele / mezēnai
These are the longest inscriptions preserved. The remaining ones are mostly single words or names on vessels and other artifacts.
A Thracian or Thraco-Dacian branch of Indo-European
The Thracian language in linguistic textbooks is usually treated either as its own branch of Indo-European, or is grouped with Dacian, together forming a Daco-Thracian branch of IE. Older textbooks often grouped it also with IllyrianIllyrian languages
The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as Illyrians: Ardiaei, Delmatae, Pannonii, Autariates, Taulanti...
or Phrygian
Phrygian language
The Phrygian language was the Indo-European language of the Phrygians, spoken in Asia Minor during Classical Antiquity .Phrygian is considered to have been closely related to Greek....
. The belief that Thracian was close to Phrygian is no longer popular and has mostly been discarded. The Thraco-Illyrian grouping has also been called into question, but remains as one of the main hypotheses. Daco-Thracian or Thraco-Dacian is the main hypothesis .
Thracian/Daco-Thracian/Thraco-Dacian in turn has been hypothesized as forming a branch of Indo-European along with either Albanian or Baltic or Balto-Slavic or Greco-Macedonian . No definite evidence has yet been found that demonstrates that Thracian or Daco-Thracian belonged on the same branch as Albanian or Baltic or Balto-Slavic or Greco-Macedonian or Phrygian or any other IE branch. For this reason textbooks still treat Thracian as its own branch of Indo-European, or as a Daco-Thracian/Thraco-Dacian branch.
The generally accepted subfamilies (clades) that branched from the Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
are, in alphabetical order, the Proto-Albanian language, Proto-Anatolian language
Proto-Anatolian language
Proto-Anatolian is the proto-language from which Anatolian languages emerged. As with all other proto-languages, no attested writings have been found; the language has been reconstructed by applying the comparative method to all the attested Anatolian languages as well as other Indo-European...
, Proto-Armenian language
Proto-Armenian language
The earliest testimony of the Armenian language dates to the 5th century AD . The earlier history of the language is unclear and the subject of much speculation....
, Proto-Balto-Slavic language
Proto-Balto-Slavic language
Proto-Balto-Slavic is reconstructed proto-language descending from Proto-Indo-European and out of which all later Balto-Slavic languages and dialects descended, such as modern Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian.The Proto-Balto-Slavic language is not directly attested by any surviving texts...
, Proto-Celtic language
Proto-Celtic language
The Proto-Celtic language, also called Common Celtic, is the reconstructed ancestor language of all the known Celtic languages. Its lexis can be confidently reconstructed on the basis of the comparative method of historical linguistics...
,
Proto-Germanic language
Proto-Germanic language
Proto-Germanic , or Common Germanic, as it is sometimes known, is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all the Germanic languages, such as modern English, Frisian, Dutch, Afrikaans, German, Luxembourgish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, and Swedish.The Proto-Germanic language is...
, Proto-Greek language
Proto-Greek language
The Proto-Greek language is the assumed last common ancestor of all known varieties of Greek, including Mycenaean, the classical Greek dialects , and ultimately Koine, Byzantine and modern Greek...
, Proto-Indo-Iranian language
Proto-Indo-Iranian language
Proto-Indo-Iranian is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd millennium BC, and are usually connected with the early Andronovo archaeological...
, Proto-Italic language, Proto-Slavic language
Proto-Slavic language
Proto-Slavic is the proto-language from which Slavic languages later emerged. It was spoken before the seventh century AD. As with most other proto-languages, no attested writings have been found; the language has been reconstructed by applying the comparative method to all the attested Slavic...
, and the Proto-Tocharian language. Thracian, Dacian, Phrygian, Illyrian, Venetic, and Paeonian are fragmentarily attested.
The fate of the Thracians and their language
Most of the Thracians were eventually Hellenized or Romanized, with the last remnants surviving in remote areas until the 5th century.See also
- Dacian languageDacian languageThe extinct Dacian language may have developed from proto-Indo-European in the Carpathian region around 2,500 BC and probably died out by AD 600. In the 1st century AD, it was the predominant language of the ancient regions of Dacia and Moesia and, possibly, of some surrounding regions.It belonged...
- List of reconstructed Dacian words
- Thraco-IllyrianThraco-IllyrianThraco-Illyrian refers to a hypothesis that the Thraco-Dacian and Illyrian languages comprise a distinct branch of Indo-European. Thraco-Illyrian is also used as a term merely implying a Thracian-Illyrian interference, mixture or sprachbund, or as a shorthand way of saying that it is not...
- Illyrian languagesIllyrian languagesThe Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as Illyrians: Ardiaei, Delmatae, Pannonii, Autariates, Taulanti...
- Paeonian language
- Phrygian languagePhrygian languageThe Phrygian language was the Indo-European language of the Phrygians, spoken in Asia Minor during Classical Antiquity .Phrygian is considered to have been closely related to Greek....
- Ancient Macedonian languageAncient Macedonian languageAncient Macedonian was the language of the ancient Macedonians. It was spoken in the kingdom of Macedon during the 1st millennium BCE and it belongs to the Indo-European group of languages...
- Thraco-RomanThraco-RomanThe terms Thraco-Roman and Daco-Roman refer to the culture and language of the Thracian and Dacian peoples who were incorporated into the Roman Empire and ultimately fell under the Roman and Latin sphere of influence.-Meaning and usage:...
- Paleo-Balkan languagesPaleo-Balkan languagesPaleo-Balkan is a geolinguistic term referring to the Indo-European languages that were spoken in the Balkans in ancient times. Except for Greek and the language that gave rise to Albanian , they are all extinct, due to Hellenization, Romanization, and Slavicisation.- Classification :The following...
- Proto-Indo-European languageProto-Indo-European languageThe Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
- Proto-Albanian language
- Proto-Balto-Slavic languageProto-Balto-Slavic languageProto-Balto-Slavic is reconstructed proto-language descending from Proto-Indo-European and out of which all later Balto-Slavic languages and dialects descended, such as modern Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian.The Proto-Balto-Slavic language is not directly attested by any surviving texts...
- Proto-Greek languageProto-Greek languageThe Proto-Greek language is the assumed last common ancestor of all known varieties of Greek, including Mycenaean, the classical Greek dialects , and ultimately Koine, Byzantine and modern Greek...
Further reading
- V.I. Georgiev, Introduction to the History of the Indo-European Languages, Sofia (1981).
- V.I. Georgiev, The Genesis of the Balkan Peoples, in: The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 44, No. 103 (Jul., 1966)
- I.I. Russu, Limba Traco-Dacilor / Die Sprache der Thrako-Daker, Bucharest (1967, 1969).
- Paul Kretschmer, "Glotta", in: Zeitschrift für griechische und lateinische Sprache 7, 1915.
External links
- The Language of the Thracians, an English translation of Ivan Duridanov's 1975 essay Ezikyt na trakite
- Sorin Olteanu's Thraco-Daco-Moesian Languages Project (SoLTDM) (sources, thesaurus, textual criticism, phonetics and morphology, substratum, historical geography a.o.)
- Thracian glossary
- Palaeolexicon - Word study tool of ancient languages (including Thracian dictionary)