𐰇𐰏𐰔

ügüz is the usual Old Turkic word for a river or large flowing watercourse. Earlier scholarship commonly transcribed it as ögüz, whereas recent lexicography prefers ügüz. The available evidence does not justify marking either vowel as long.

The word is widely attested across Old Turkic, including runiform texts, texts written in the Uyghur script, and the Karakhanid corpus; it also continues in Khwarazmian and Cuman sources. Examples include Ertiş ügüz “the River Irtysh”, kan ügüz “a river of blood”, Gaŋ ügüz “the River Ganges”, and toğan ügüz kuşı “a falcon and a river bird” in the Irk Bitig.

In Buddhist and other religious Old Turkic texts written in the Uyghur script, the word can also refer to a sea or ocean, particularly in the compound taloy ügüz and in metaphorical expressions such as an “ocean of suffering”. This broader meaning is therefore contextually attested, although “river” remains the basic meaning.

Kaşgarlı defines ügüz as any flowing river, such as the Oxus or the Euphrates. He adds that among the Oghuz it could refer specifically to the river beside which their settlements stood, and that many rivers in the Turkic lands bore this designation.