Skip to content
Corpus of Old Turkic

𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣

bodun

Meaning:
nation, people
#{grammar.phonetics.modern.shift_d_to_y}, which is why the word would become mononymous with "boyın" (neck) in some modern Turkic languages.
Alternative spellings:
𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰆𐰣

Word family

Formed from 𐰉𐰆𐰑 [bod] “tribe, clan, people” using -(a)n² [collective plural]. The rare suffix -(a)n2 forms historical plurals and collective nouns, e.g. ogul → oglan “sons, children” and bodun “people, nation”.

In modern languages (1 / 22)

Select a region to see the cognate.
Language Cognate
Turkmen No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Turkish (Azerbaijan) No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Turkish (Türkiye) The cognate has disappeared from this language.
Salar No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Gagauz No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Crimean No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Uyghur No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Uzbek No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Kazakh No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Nogai No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Siberian Tatar No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Kyrgyz muun*
Altai No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Alan No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Kumyk No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Tatar No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Bashkir No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Tıva No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Khakas No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Sakha (Yakut, Dolgan) No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Khalaj No cognate has been entered for this language yet.
Chuvash No cognate has been entered for this language yet.

* Meaning shifted

Examples

Irk Bitig: The Book of Omens

1

Bilgä Kagan inscriptions

43

Tonyuquq inscriptions

17

Kültegin inscriptions

33

Yenisei finds (E1-E154)

1

El-Etmish Yabgu inscription

2

Biography of Xuánzàng

4

Maitrisimit - A Buddhist Apocalypse

4

Translations

German:
Volk, Bevölkerung, Nation
Kazakh:
xalıq
Kyrgyz:
улут, эл
Russian:
народ, нация
Turkish (Azerbaijan):
xalq, millət, boy, boyun
Turkish (Türkiye):
halk, millet
Turkmen:
halk, millet
Uzbek:
xalq, millat

Bibliography 1

  • Gerard Clauson (1972) An etimological dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish
    92