Clauson (1972)
An etimological dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish
p. 224-225
D erken
like erki: (q.v.) and 1 erinç an archaic Dev. form fr. 1 er-; originally used after verbs in the Aor. f. to mean ‘while’, later used rather more freely to mean ‘while being’, see v. G. ATG, para. 437. Survives in NE Tuv. ergin ‘a particle used to give a flavour of indefiniteness to a statement’ (perhaps a Sec. f. of erki:) and as eken/iken, etc. ‘while being’ in most other language groups. Türkü viii ff. Man. Chuas. 213 (1 alkan-): Uyğ. viii ff. Bud. ança sözleyü turur erken ‘while they were thus speaking’ U IV 20, 233; similar phr. do. 28, 18; yorıyur erken ‘while he was walking’ do. 30, 34, etc.; siz Enetkekte erken ‘while you were in India’ Hüen-ts. 1790 (and see note thereon); o.o. do. 2022, 2142; Suv. 620, 17 etc.; 621, 19: Civ. Tardış apam ölgen erkende ‘our grandfather Tardış being (now) deceased’ USp. 12, 2: Xak. xi erken a particle meaning ḥāla kaḏā ‘the position being so-and-so’; hence one says ol kelür erken kördüm ‘I saw him while he was coming’ (ḥāla ityānihi) Kaş. I 108; similar usages II 249, 9; 301, 2; 333, 5 (sekrit-): KB kiçig oğlan erken bilig ögrenür ‘a man learns wisdom when he is a small boy’ 1823: xiii(?) At. biligsiz tirig erken atı ölüg ‘the ignorant man’s name (reputation) dies while he is still alive’ 96; a.o. 215; Tef. yiğit erken ‘while a young man’ and similar phr. 78 ff. (s.v. 1 er-): Çağ. xv ff. both authorities list erken, erkin, eken, and ekin, usually without cross-refces., and stating that they are all synonymous; but the examples show that erkin/ekin has a different meaning and is a Sec. f. of erki:; erkin (‘with -k’) is used with another word, e.g. bolmadı erkin olmadımı ‘was it not?’ (quotn.); erken (‘with -k-’) has the same meaning (quotn. containing erkenni ‘his being’) Vel. 49; eken (‘with -g-’, sic in error) usually used with another word, e.g. fulān eken fulān iken or idügi ‘being so-and-so’ (quotns.); ekin (‘with -k-’) usually used with another word, e.g. bu erdi ekin bu idi (quotns.) do. 64; erken (spelt) hast ‘is’ (quotn. containing tilbe erken dür ‘is mad’); also spelt erkin (quotn. ne erkin said to mean both ‘what is?’ and ‘what liberty of action?’), also a lafẓ-i zā’id ‘supplementary word’ used dar rawābiṭ ‘in compound expressions’ (quotn.) San. 99v. 28 (several oblique cases of erken follow); eken (spelt) same translation as erken (quotn.), also spelt ekin San. 108v. 19 (several oblique cases follow); ekin (spelt) inter alia; (2) abbreviation of erkin az cumla-i rawābiṭ meaning hast (quotn.); (3) a supplementary word used as an ornament in compound expressions (quotns.) do. 109r. 28: Xwar. xiii erken/eken ‘while’ ‘Ali 37.