About some Arabisms in the Common Georgian-Armenian Vocabulary

Abstract

The article is a continuation of our work, aim of which is to show and analyze lexical items of Arabic origin in common Georgian-Armenian words. The material discussed is taken from dictionaries of all three languages.

As expected, the lexemes that we study, were not revealed in the old Georgian language. Some of them are not found in the dictionary by SulkhanSaba Orbeliani, however, they are recorded in the dictionaries by Niko or Davit Chubinashvili.

aynuni – comes from Arabic عين/ عيون’ –ayn/‘uyūn, meaning “eye”. In the Georgian language, the word is found in fixed expressions followed by a finite
verb. ainunshic ar mosdis — somebody does not pay attention, to ignore somebody. In the Armenian language it is found as այնում [aynum], Arabic ‘ayn,
Persian eyn „eye“ in the expression “the light of my eye”. According to the definition in the modern Armenian language, that is a component of a fixed expression – [այնում] meaning "not paying attention, ignoring, not giving importance”.

amali < Arabic. عمال’ /ammāl – „worker, always working”; عامل’ /āmil – „worker“. This Arabic borrowing [hamal] is recorded in modern Armenian dictionaries meaning „loader”.

The word Parcel (amanati) comes fromArabic امانة/ʾamānat (امن) verb) meaning: 1. Reliability, loyalty, honesty. 2. Item given for storage, deposit. امانات / ʾamānāt — „given for storage. The borrowed word (parcel) amanati maintained all consonants in Georgian.

In the modern Armenian language, this word is synonymous with the word "guarantee, pledge, mortgage, deposit". The Arabic word amānat „guarantee,
pledge which is borrowed from Turkish comes from the word amnwhich means “trust, security”.

araki – in Arabic اراك/arāk it means a species of a tree that has a reddishpurple fruit. This word is found in the modern Armenian language Արաք and արագ meaning “an unknown species of a tree that is useful for intraoral pain disorders and is used as toothpick. Theword comes from Arabic arāk meaning “a kind of thorny tree which is a favorite food for the camel; the tree is also used to make toothpicks”. Europeans call it arack, however scientifically it is called “salvadora persica”. According to the explanatory dictionary of the Old Georgian language, the word has two meanings: 1. araki – pea and 2. araki- kind of building material. 

araqati – the word is associated with Arabic حركة/haraqat meaning “movement, action“. haraqat was also introduced into Georgian as a descriptive name for an abstract concept — "force, strength, effort". There are 2 definitions of the word in Grishashvili's "Urban Dictionary: 1. arakati — is an Arabic word and the
name of the mountain and valley located on the east side of Mecca. According to the custom, the worshipers take a break and recite the Koran aloud on their way to Mecca. 2) the second meaning of the word is effort, strength, hovsila.

The lexeme we have just looked atհարաքաթ[harakat] is found also in the Armenian language with meanings: 1. movement. 2. strength, ability, opportunity." In the modern explanatory dictionaries հարաքյաթ[harakat] is found as a dialect form meaning "strength, power, ability".

arshia (lace) – without any reference to origin, the word has three meanings in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian Language — 1. stripe on the edges of the fabric, different in color or material; 2. is the same as the ribbon; 3. an edge left unwritten in a book or notebook. The origin of the word given in Georgian is Arabic.حاشية/ḥāšiyat (<plural حواشي/ḥawāshi – „margin, page, edge. marking the margin”... There is no word (arshia) in the Middle Armenian
language, which indicates its late borrowing. However, it is found in dialects հաշիա [hashia] meaning: “a soft openwork ribbon, a sheet that is sewn to linen or the edges of clothes”. In modern Armenian explanatory dictionaries the word „hashia“ is defined as a synonym of an Armenian word ժապավեն[zhapaven], meaning “ribbon, tie, strap, tie-string, chenille”. The Armenian form indicates its indisputable borrowing, because the ia sequence, which is not characteristics for the phonetic structure of the Armenian language, and is recorded only in borrowed words, must have turned into ya diphthong.

In Georgian dictionaries the word attlas (satin) is defined as woven, brocade silk. It comes from Arabic اطلس/ʾaṭlas „fabric, material“. It entered the Georgian language with the same pronunciation as transcription, presumably in writing. In the Middle Armenian the word is found as աթլաս [atlas ], ադլաս [adlas], ատլաս [atlas]. Etymology of the word is Arabic (aṭlas). It is defined as “a soft cloth of silk, a piece; clothes.” In the Modern Armenian explanatory dictionaries the word ատլաս[atlas] is found as a synonym of the word կերպաս [kerpas] meaning: 1.cotton or silk fabric; 2. silk woven; 3. silk.

According to the Explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian Language, the word mayhem (akal-makali) is defined as an Arabic borrowing with the meaning
„quarrel, bustle, row, turmoil, commotion”. There is another variation (kalmakali) of the same word in Georgian. Arabic expression والقيل القال /al-qÁl walq×l “talking a lot of rubbish, rumor, gossip “was transformed into Georgian as „quarrel, bustle, row, turmoil, commotion”. There is no equivalent borrowing in
the Middle Armenian. However, there are borrowings in the Modern Armenian language and in dilects used as synonyms of Armenian words: 1.ղալմաղալ [ghalmaghal]defined as աղմուկ [aghmuk] meaning „noise, bustle, loud call, uproar” and 2. վեճ [vech] „argument, dispute". qalmaqāl — „word and speech,
rumor“ is an Arabic borrowing that entrenched in Armenian through the Turkish language. 

According to the Explanatory Dictionary of the Georgian Language, the word dalali is defined as 1. mediator, middleman trader (archaic); 2.the same as matchmaker; 3. Street trader. In Arabic, the word دالل] dallāl] means „1. Broadcaster, 2. Broker, mediator 3. auctioneer“. The word comes from Arabic verb دل [dalla]: „ ... send somebody/something to right direction.

The word դալալ [dalal] is found in the Middle Armenian language dating back to the XIV century. The reference of the word dāllal indicates its Arabic/Persian origin and means mediator, commission agent (in trade and other activities). According to the Modern Explanatory Dictionaries of the Armenian Language, the above mentioned lexeme is defined as dialect.

According to Armenian opinion, dialect forms դալլալ[dallal] and դալալ [dalal] are of Arabic origin with the meanings: — „1.herald, a person who shouts the news in the street; 2.packman (archaic), hawker, pedlar”.

Thus, the lexical items presented in the article are Arabic borrowings, which are the lexemes of the modern Georgian and Armenian lexical fund.