𐰅𐰲𐰃
eçi
Meaning:
elder brother; father's younger brother
eçi originally designated an older male relative, including both an elder brother and a paternal uncle younger than one's father. In the Orkhon inscriptions, eçim kağan refers to the speaker's paternal uncle, whereas the paired expression ini eçi contrasts younger and elder male relatives. In later texts, the meaning “elder brother” predominates, and the word was gradually replaced in many Turkic varieties by aka/ağa, generally regarded as a Mongolian borrowing.
Alternative spellings:
𐰲𐰃
Examples
Translations
German:
älterer Bruder; jüngerer Bruder des Vaters
Russian:
старший брат; младший брат отца
Turkish (Azerbaijan):
böyük qardaş; atanın kiçik qardaşı
Turkish (Türkiye):
ağabey; babanın küçük erkek kardeşi
Bibliography 5
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Hendrik Boeschoten (2022) A dictionary of early middle Turkicp. 45a, ečip. 45a, eči
eči 1. ‘paternal uncle’ (QT2, AH) / äčči (BM); ečiqay <eči aqay ‘paternal uncle’ (KT). eči 2. ‘elder brother’ (QT3, QT5, QAt, MM) -
Dr. Jens Wilkens (2021) Handwörterbuch des Altuigurischen | Eski Uygurcanın El Sözlüğüpp. 250b–251a, ¹ečipp. 250b–251a, ¹eči
¹eči älterer Bruder || ağabey (→ äči)
eči ini älterer und jüngerer Bruder || abi ve küçük erkek kardeş
ečili inili älterer und jüngerer Bruder || abi ve küçük erkek kardeş -
Sergei Starostin, Anna Dybo, Oleg Mudrak (2003) Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languagespp. 271–272, *ăčV, Proto-Turkic *ăčaj / *ĕčejpp. 271–272, *ăčV, Proto-Turkic *ăčaj / *ĕčej
*ăčV elder relative, ancestor: Tung. *asī; Turk. *ăčaj / *ĕčej; Kor. *àčă-.
PTung. *asī 1 wife of elder brother 2 woman 3 wife: Evk. asī 2; Evn. asị 2; Neg. asī 2; Man. aša 1; SMan. ašə, asə 3 (908); Ul. asị 3; Ork. asị 2; Nan. aśa 2; Orch. asa 2; Ud. ahanta 2; Sol. aē, aī 2.
◊ ТМС 1, 55. TM > Dag. aškā (Тод. Даг. 123).
PTurk. *ăčaj / *ĕčej 1 old man or woman 2 mother 3 grandmother 4 sister (of woman) 5 mother (if the grandmother is still alive) 5 mother (addr. to an elder woman) 6 aunt, sister of father 7 elder brother 8 uncle 9 ancestor 10 Father! (to the God) 11 old man, elder man 12 husband 13 younger brother of father's father 14 grandfather 15 father: OTurk. eči 7, 8 (Orkh.), ečü 9 (Orkh., OUygh.); Karakh. eči 1 (MK), ečü 10 (KB); Tur. aǯu (dial.), eǯe 11; Uzb. ɔča, ača 2, 3; Uygh. ača 6; Tat. aǯa, aǯi, ɛǯi 5 (dial., ТТДС 22, 551), azɨj, ɛzi 11, 15 (dial., ТТДС 23, 540); Bashk. äsä 2; Kirgh. ačaj 5, aǯa 11; Kum. aǯaj 5, ečiw 6; SUygh. ačɨ 4, ača 12, 15; Khak. aǯa 7, 8; Shr. ača 7, 8; Oyr. Leb. aǯɨ, aǯa 7, ača 13; Tv. ača 15; Tof. aš'a, aǯa 7, 15; Chuv. aźa 15; Yak. ehe 14; Dolg. ehe 14.
◊ VEWT 35, ЭСТЯ 1, 231–235, TMN 2, 15, Егоров 35, Лексика 299, Clark 1977, 128, Stachowski 43. Shortness is suggested by pharyngealization in Tofalar, so the variants with -ǯ- are probably due to expressive gemination (*aččV / *eččV).
PKor. *àčă- 1 aunt 2 uncle: MKor. àčắmì 1, àčàpí 2; Mod. aǯū 1, 2, aǯūmǝni 1, aǯǝbi 2.
◊ Nam 341, KED 1076, 1077.
‖ An expressive kinship 'nursery' word with the typical structure *VCV; the root must have denoted some elder relative, both male and female. Deriving TM *asī from a Chinese (TMC 1, 55) or Sino-Korean (SKE 15) source is quite impossible. The Mongolian reflexes are problematic: Mong. eǯei 'mother, elder sister' (whence Yak. eǯij, Dolg. eǯij, see Кал. V 27, Stachowski 43) is probably < Turkic; Mong. ečige 'father' reflects rather PA *ĕt'ĕ (q.v.). One should, however, note an isolated Dagur form ačā 'father' (Тод. Даг. 122), whence certainly Solon ačā id. and possibly Evk. (Vit.) ači 'ancestor' (TMC 1, 59). -
Gerard Clauson (1972) An etimological dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkishp. 20a–b, ¹eçi:p. 20a–b, ¹eçi:
1 eçi: as pointed out in K. Grønbech, ‘The Turkish System of Kinship’, in Studia Orientalia ... Johanni Pedersen dicata, Munksgaard, 1953, this word means ‘a close male relative younger than one's father and older than oneself’, i.e. both ‘(junior) paternal uncle and elder brother’. It soon lost its first meaning, and in the medieval period was displaced almost everywhere by the synonymous Mong. l.-w. ağa (aka); it survives, however, in SW xx Anat. in forms like those quoted under eçe:. Türkü viii eçim xağan olurtı: ‘my (junior) paternal uncle ascended the throne’ I E 16, II E 14, a.o.o. in this sense; inili: eçili: kikşürtükin: üçün ‘because (the Chinese) aroused mutual enmity between younger brothers (and nephews) and elder brothers (and uncles)’ I E 6, II E 6; a.o.o. of eçi: and ini: in apposition: viii ff. Yen. inim eçimiz Mal. 29, 4; üç eçime: 32, 1 and 13: Man. inili eçili Chuas. I 31; ini eçi M III 6, 6 (iii); in<i> eçilerin do. 22, 10 (ii): Uyğ. viii ff. Bud. eçi specifically ‘elder brother’ is common in PP; a.o. U III 82, 13 (in U II 19, 18; 20, 21 eçi is a misreading of evçi): Civ. ini eçi TT I 137; eçi is common in USp., prob. only ‘elder brother’: O. Kır. ix ff. eçi:/eçi: is fairly common, and might have either meaning Mal. 6, 2 etc.: Xak. xi eçi: al-axu’l-akbar sinna(n) ‘elder brother’ Kaş. I 87; III 7 (yurç): KB ata bardı eş tuş eçi ya ini ‘your father has gone and your comrades and elder and younger brothers’ 3784 (prob. spurious): xiii(?) Tef. eçi synonymous with Ar. ‘amm ‘paternal uncle’ 86: Kıp. xiv eçi: al-‘amm Id. 9; al-‘amm eççi: Bul. 9, 3 (cim in both). -
M Räsänen, I Kecskeméti (1969) Versuch eines etymologischen Wörterbuchs der Türksprachenp. 35a, uig. (Gab.) äči, ičip. 35a, uig. (Gab.) äči, iči
uig. (Gab.) äči, iči ‘älterer Bruder, Vatersbruder’, ‘jüngerer Bruder’, mtü. AH. iči ‘büyük kardeş’, jak. äǯī, ädǯī ‘вообще старшая годами’; ? osm. äǯä ‘Greis’, čuv. aźa ‘Männchen’, ‘Vater’, ? atü. äčü ‘Vorfahren’
~ ung. (Németh Nr. 16, UAW 8) öcs ‘jüngerer Bruder’
