Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/márkos
 | This Proto-Indo-European entry contains reconstructed words and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence. |
Proto-Indo-European
Etymology
The form has been connected to words for 'horse' that extend eastward in non-IE languages, but the dating and direction of borrowing remains uncertain. T. Gamkrelidze and V. Ivanov associate the word to horse riding in the Bronze Age.[1][2]
Reconstruction
The reconstruction at the PIE level is disputed on several grounds:
- limited geographical distribution in Western IE - only present in the Celtic and Germanic branches.
- the presence of rare/disputed PIE phoneme */a/, a reconstruction *mh₂érkos seems untenable.
One theory which does not accept the existence of this PIE word sees the Germanic forms as a borrowing from the Celtic, and those as a loan from Proto-Iranian *márikah (compare Old Persian [script needed] (marika, “male, manly”)), from *máryah (compare Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 (mairiia, “man; male animal”)); akin to Sanskrit मर्य (márya, “young man; stallion”). More at marry.
Noun
*márkos m
- horse (Equus caballus)
- (possibly) wild horse (Equus przewalskii or gmelini)
Usage notes
Possibly denoting only a "wild horse" as opposed to the *h₁éḱwos (“domestic horse”).
Inflection
| Thematic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | |||
| nominative | *márkos | ||
| genitive | *márkosyo | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative | *márkos | *márkoh₁ | *márkoes |
| vocative | *márke | *márkoh₁ | *márkoes |
| accusative | *márkom | *márkoh₁ | *márkoms |
| genitive | *márkosyo | *? | *márkooHom |
| ablative | *márkead | *? | *márkomos |
| dative | *márkoey | *? | *márkomos |
| locative | *márkey, *márkoy | *? | *márkoysu |
| instrumental | *márkoh₁ | *? | *márkōys |
Synonyms
- *h₁éḱwos
- *ǵʰéyos
- *mendyos
Derived terms
- *márkih₂
Descendants
- Celtic: *markos (see there for further descendants)
- Germanic: *marhaz (see there for further descendants)
References
- R. Matasović (2009): Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, p. 257.
- T. Gamkrelidze & V. Ivanov (1995): Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans, p. 472-473.
- Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q., editors (1997) Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 274
- Suzuki, Tomotarō; Hisao Kaaguchi, Yoshimoto Endō, Kyōichi Nishishita (1957) Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 20: Tosa Nikki, Kagerō Nikki, Izumi Shikibu Nikki, Sarashina Nikki (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
- Satake, Akihiro; Hideo Yamada; Rikio Kudō; Masao Ōtani; Yoshiyuki Yamazaki (c. 759) Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 4: Man’yōshū 4 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 2003, →ISBN.
- Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*mórV”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill