𐱅𐰃𐰏𐰤
tegin
Meaning:
prince
tegin is an old dynastic title conventionally translated as “prince”. In the early inscriptions it refers especially to sons or grandsons of a ruling kağan; later its use became less restricted and it also occurs as a more general title of honour.
The ultimate origin is uncertain.
The title tegin has the irregular plural tegit, formed with the historical suffix -(u)t2, used to form plurals of certain titles.
Related:
Examples
Translations
German:
Prinz
Russian:
принц
Turkish (Azerbaijan):
şahzadə
Turkish (Türkiye):
prens
Bibliography 1
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Gerard Clauson (1972) An etimological dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish483483
(F) tégin (or ? tégi:n) a very old title, like tarxan, q.v., inherited fr. some earlier non-Turkish language, as shown by the fact that it had the non-Turkish Pl. f. tégit, q.v. In the Türkü period it meant ‘prince’ in the limited specific sense of ‘a son, or grandson, of a ruling xağan’; after that period it was used in a much less restricted sense as a title of honour of diminishing importance, but did not survive the Mongolian invasion. Its history is discussed at great length in Doerfer II 922 (which contains some errors) and more briefly in Bosworth and Clauson, ‘al-Xwārazmī on the Peoples of Central Asia’, JRAS, 1965, p. 7. It is noteworthy that both Kaş. and San. give wholly erroneous accounts of its origin. Türkü viii the prince commemorated in I was Kül Tégin, younger son of Élteriş Xağan; both I and II were drafted by Yolluğ Tégin, the atı: (‘grandson or nephew’) of Bilge: Xağan (see I S 13; SW; II SW) who was himself a tégin (see I E 17, II E 14) when his uncle succeeded his father as xağan; four tégins attended the funeral of Küli Çor Ix. 24: Uyğ. viii Ozmış Tégin xan bolmış ‘Ozmış Tégin became xan’ Şu. N 9 (N.B. the last Türkü xağan): viii ff. Man. M III 14, 3 (iii) (igid-): Bud. the two royal princes in PP were called Edgü ögli tégin and Ayığ ögli tégin; Teŋriken Kutluğ Bars Tégin P.N. (prob. not a royal prince) TT IV, p. 20, note B69, 2: O. Kır. ix ff. er atım Yaruk Tégin ‘my adult name was Yaruk Tegin’ Mal. 15, 1 (not a royal prince): Xak. xi tégi:n in its original meaning (fī aṣli’l-luğa) ‘a slave’ (al-‘abd); hence one says kümüş tégi:n ‘a slave of faultless colouring like silver’, alp tégi:n ‘a robust (calad) slave’ and kutluğ tégi:n ‘a blessed (mubārak) slave’. Then this noun was made an exclusive appellation (sima maḥḍa) for the sons of the Xāqāns and is combined with the names of birds of prey, e.g. Çağrı: tégi:n, that is ‘a prince (tégi:n) with the strength of a falcon’ (al-bāzī); küç tégi:n ‘strong prince’. This name was transferred from slaves (al-mawālī) to the sons of Afrāsiyāb because they respected their fathers and whenever they addressed or wrote to them they said or wrote ‘your slave has done so-and-so’ depreciating themselves and exalting their fathers. After that they were known specially by this name; but the word remained as the name of a slave when it was combined with something which was clearly distinguished from them (i.e. princely names) Kaş. I 413; o.o. I 355 (tégit); 357 (beğeç); III 368 (toŋa:): (KB kayusı tégin beg, 4068, is an erroneous conjecture by Arat; the MSS. indicate rather kayusı kül erkin): xiv Muh. (?) (in a list of titles) min abnā’i’l-umarā ‘an amir’s son’ tégi:n (mis-spelt begi:n) Rif. 145 (only): Çağ. xv ff. tégin in the (Pe. ?) Oğuz Nāma in introducing the account of Buğra Xan it is said that he had three sons named Él Tegin, Kuzı Tégin, and Sübük Tégin; and the meaning of tégin in the language of the Turks is ‘good-looking’ (nīkū ṣūrat) San. 158r. 9: Kıp. xiii (in the list of names of slaves) aydeği:n amīr qamar ‘ruler of the moon’, wa huwa luğa Hou. 29, 18.
