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Document Details :

Title: Le mot turc kötü
Subtitle: Une origine anatolienne?
Author(s): PASTOR, Dorian
Journal: Journal Asiatique
Volume: 308    Issue: 2   Date: 2020   
Pages: 133-144
DOI: 10.2143/JA.308.2.3288906

Abstract :
This article presents an etymological review of the Turkish word kötü ‘bad’. This word is commonly associated with the Old Turkic kätü ‘crippled’, as well as köti (found in the compound köti bürt ‘nightmare’) and the insult kötiç. Gelir questions the traditional etymology ascribed to this word and evokes the suggestion of it being a loan from Armenian godi made by Dankoff. Highlighting the semantic and phonological inconsistencies of the previous propositions, Gelir suggests that Turkish kötü cannot be linked to Old Turkic köt ‘behind, buttocks, ass’ by drawing a parallel with the word pis (‘dirty’ in Turkish, ‘bad’ in Azerbaijani) and addressing additional semantics-related issues. The purpose of this study is to provide further arguments in favor of Turkish kötü being an Armenian loanword by analyzing Gelir’s findings and by considering the semantics of Armenian godi as well as Armenian phonology. The present study will also attempt to account for the origin of Armenian godi, particularly by focusing in on Iranian languages.

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