This article contains information about Illyrian vocabulary. No Illyrian texts survive, so sources for identifying Illyrian words have been identified by Hans Krahe. as being of four kinds: inscriptions, glosses of Illyrian words in classical texts, names—including proper names (mostly inscribed on tombstones), toponyms and river names—and Illyrian loanwords in other languages. The last category has proven particularly contentious. The names occur in sources that range over more than a millennium, including numismatic evidence, as well as posited original forms of placenames. Messapic, an ancient language of Apulia which was of Balkan provenance and is grouped in the 'Illyric branch' of the Indo-European family, p. 235. p. 337. does have an epigraphic corpus, and some words have been recorded by ancient authors. Messapic words and relevant etymologies are listed in Messapic language#Lexicon.
Proposed etymologies
Illyrian lemmas This is a list of lemmas explicitly mentioned as Illyrian by classical authors. Lemma Attestation English meaning PIE etymology Proposed cognatesbra (βρα)Hesychius: <βρα>· ἀδελφοί, ὑπὸ Ἰλλυρίων"brother"PIE *bʰréh₂tērAlb. vëlla/vllâ "brother", Germ. "Bruder", Eng. "brother"Bopp (1855), page 3: “υε̯λά” deuádai (Δευάδαι) Hesychius: <Δευάδαι>· οἱ Σάτοι, παρὰ Ἰλλυρίων "satyrs" PIE *dʰu̯ésmi Alb. dash "ram", Skt. dhūnoti "he shakes", Gk. thýein "to rage, seethe", théeion "sulfur vapor", Eng. dizzy, Paeonian Dýalos "Dionysos", Lat. furere "to rage", belua "wild animal", Old Ir. dásacht "rage, fury", Lith. dvėsti "to croak, perish, die (animals)", dvelksmas "breath, waft, aura", Hitt. tuhhai "to gasp", Rus. dɨhánije "breath, waft", duh "spirit, soul, mind, aura, ghost, wind" also "aliveness, breathing, willingness, meaningfulness, truthfulness", dušá "spirit, soul; heart, kindness, truthfulness". *rhinos or rhinon (ῥινόν) Scholion to Odyssey 5.281: Οί δέ λέγουσιν Ἰλλυριούς ῥινόν λέγειν τήν άχλύν "fog, mist" PIE *h₁rinéHti Old Alb. ren, mod. Alb. re, rê "cloud",Matasović, Ranko (2019). A Grammatical Sketch of Albanian for Students of Indo-European. University of Zagreb. Page 5. singularized plural of *ri, which goes back to PAlb *rina, etymologically identical to the Illyrian form; also Alb. rij, rî 'to make humid'.Further connected to Gk. (Lesbian) orínein "to move", Old Ch. Slav. rinǫti "to flow", Skt. riṇá-ti "to pour, let flow". sabaia, sabaium, *sabaius Ammianus Marcellinus: Est autem sabaia ex ordeo vel frumento in liquorem conversus paupertinus in Illyrico potus
Jerome:
ζύθον, quod genus est potionis ex frugibus aquaque confectum et vulgo in Dalmatiae Pannoniaeque provinciis gentili barbaroque sermone appellatur sabaium "a type of beer" PIE *sap- Eng. sap, Lat. sapere "to taste", Skt. sabar "sap, juice, nectar", Avestan višāpa "having poisonous juices", Arm ham, Gk. hapalós "tender, delicate", Old Ch. Slav. sveptŭ "bee's honey"; borrowed into Lat. and from there into Ital. zabaione "frothy drink". *sibina (La. sibyna ~ sybina; Gr. σιβυνη ~ σιβυνης ~ συβινη ~ ζιβυνη) Ennius (Annals, 5.540): Illyrii restant sicis sybinisque fodentes
Festius compared it to συβηνη (Gk.), "flute case", a word found in Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazusai "a hunting spear", generally, "a spear", "pike" Alb. thupën/thupër "bar, stick" (Proto-Alb. *tsupina "stick");.Pers. zôpîn, Arm. səvīn "a spit". sica (Lat. sica ~ sicca) First mentioned in Ennius (Annals, 5.540): Illyrii restant sicis sybinisque fodentes
Of Illyrian soldiers; later used in Pliny to describe Thracian implements "curved knife, dagger" PIE *ḱeh₁kʷeh₂ Alb. thika 'knife', which goes back to PAlb *tsika;Skt. śitá "sharp", Arm. sur "sharp", srem "to sharpen"Illyrian term borrowed into Lat. sica "dagger", the root of Lat. sicarii "assassins", Rus. siečiénije "cut, section; cross-section", siečj, rassiekatj "to whip, flog; to cut, shred, split, sever".
Messapic lemmas Messapic language is oftentimes regarded as close to Illyrian; ; ; ; ; ; even though there is still no consensus among scholars regarding their proximity.Woodard 2008, p. 11; Fortson 2004, p. 407Matzinger 2015, p. 62: "Finché non sono risolti in maniera soddisfacente i vari e difficili problemi della fonologia storica dell’illirico vero e proprio è, al momento attuale, impossibile se non inutile effettuare una comparazione linguistica tra il messapico e l’illirico."; De Simone 2017, pp. 1842–1843: "At the present time, realistically speaking, it is not possible to situate Messapic within the framework of the Indo-European language family (...). The question of whether Messapic is a dialect of “Illyrian”, (...) much less the Illyrian language, is in my view an issue belonging to the history of scholarship and is no longer current." See Messapic lemmas for a list of Messapic words.
Toponyms, hydronyms, anthroponyms Some words have been extracted from toponyms and anthroponyms. +NameNotesProposed cognatesEnglish meaningPIE etymologyRelated wordsBalios (Βάλιος)Name of one of Achilles's horses. Suspected to be of foreign origin (Thracian, Phrygian or Illyrian).Athanassakis, Apostolos N. “Akhilleus’s Horse Balios: Old and New Etymologies”. In: Glotta 78, no. 1/4 (2002): 1–2. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40267134. Athanassakis supposes a loanword into Latin from Osco-Umbrian language badius/*balius, via an Illyrian source.Athanassakis, Apostolos N. “Akhilleus’s Horse Balios: Old and New Etymologies”. In: Glotta 78, no. 1/4 (2002): 7. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40267134.Alb. balë 'horse with white spot on forehead', Gk. phaliós 'having a white patch', Lith. balas/baltas 'white', OCS bĕlu 'white''dapple', 'related to a white color'*bʰĕl-Bardylis (Βάρδυλις)Illyrian kingAlb. i bardhë Messapic: bardulosAlb. "white" Messapic: "grey"*bʰreh₁ǵ-DalmataeIllyrian tribeAlb. delmë, delë
Orel rejects this analogy"sheep"Delminium (capital city of the Dalmatae, near Tomislavgrad) Dalmana (ancient city in N. Macedonia)Dardani (Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι)Tribe which lived in the historical region of Dardania in the central Balkans. Dardania is placed in a transitional onomastic region between southern Illyrian and Dalmatian with regional features.
Connected to Albanian dardhë. It appears as a toponym in many Albanian-speaking regions: Dardhishte (Kaçanik), Dardhë (Korçë), Dardhas (Pogradec), Zall i Dardhës (Dibër), Darza (Ulcinj), Dardhatar (Zelenikovo), Dardhës (Molise), Dardhëza (Morea). Kruševo (from Proto-Slavic kruša, "pear") and other related toponyms have been proposed as South Slavic translations of Darda- toponyms.Alb. dardhë"pear"*g'hord-, *dheregh-Dardanoi in the area of ancient Troy Dardanelles
Dardi in DauniaDassareti (Δασσαρῆται, Δασσαρήτιοι) - Sessarethes (Σεσαρήθιος)Illyrian tribes with possibly related names.Ep. Gr. daksa (δάξα)"sea"Affine to the Chaonian Greek DexaroiDeipatyros (Δειπάτυροϛ)Deity of the Epirotic Stymphians, regarded as a name of Illyrian origin"sky father"DemeterDimallum - Dimale (Διμάλη)Illyrian city on the border with EpirusAlb. dy male'two mountains'Enchelii (Ἐγχέλιοι/Ἐγχελεῖς)Illyrian tribeAlb. ngjalë"eel"*h₂engʷʰ-Rhizon (Ῥίζων), RisiniumCapital city of the Illyrian kingdom under the ArdiaeiAlb. , rrjedhon 'flow, stream''flow, river, stream'Skárdon, Scardus (Σκάρδον)Mountain range in IllyriaAlb. 'lizard' < PAlb. *skard- 'digger', Greek 'lizard, newt', Lith. 'steep / to dig', Latv. 'to split, crush' p. 363. p. 244. p. 32.'steep, to dig, cut, split'*skord-, *(s)kerdʰ- or *(s)kerd-Scardona, ScordisciTaulantii (Ταυλάντιοι)Illyrian tribe Living nearfter the Chelidones (meaning "swallow" in Greek, main reason for the connection with Alb. "dallëndyshe")Alb. tallandyshe, dallëndyshe"swallow"Chelidones (Χελιδόνιοι)Tergeste Illyrian cityAlb. treg Română: târg'marketplace'Tergolape, OpitergiumTeuta(na) (Τεύτα)Teuta is the diminutive of TeutanaBoardman & Sollberger 1982, pp. 869–870; Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 288; Wilkes 1992, p. 72; West 2007, p. 137; De Simone 2017, p. 1869Got. þiudans "king""people"*teutéh₁-Ulcinium (Ουλκίνιον)Illyrian cityAlb. ujk - ulk"wolf"*wĺ̥kʷosUlcisia castraVendum Illyrian cityAlb. vend'place, location'
Non Illyrian words of possible Illyrian origin Additionally to the words explicitly mentioned as Illyrian, scholars have extracted a list of non-Illyrian words that may have derived from Illyrian language. +LemmaSource languageNotesEnglish meaningPIE etymologyProposed cognatesbagaron (βαγαρόν)Laconian GreekHesychius: <βάγαρον>· χλιαρόν. Λάκωνες
Defined as "Gk.-Illyr." by Pokorny."warm"PIE *bʰōg-Alb. bukë "bread", Phrygian bekos "bread", Eng. bake, Lat. focus "hearth", Old Ir. goba "blacksmith", Gk. phōgein "to roast", Armenian bosor "red", bots "flame", Rus. bagrovɨj, bagrianɨj "crimson, saturated red, color of dark blood, purpur", bagriéc, bagrianiec "redness of someone's face, cheeks, of heated up material (e.g. metal), crimson cloth, fabric".brisaLatinPassed from Illyrian to Latin, ultimately of Thracian origin.
Pokorny instead talks of a Messapic or Venetic origin of brisa."husk of grapes"Alb. bërsí "lees, dregs; mash", Eng. broth, Lat. defrutum "new wine boiled down", Welsh brwd "brewage", Old Ir. bruth "heat, wrath", Thrac. brỹtos "barley alcohol", brỹtion "wine must", Gk. apéphrysen "to seethe, boil", ? Lith. bręsti "to mature, ripe", brendimas "ripening", also brinkti "to swell", brinkìmas "swelling" ?, Rus. braga, bražka "must, ale, unfinished or badly produced alcohol drink", broditj "to ferment (brew)", brožénije "fermentation (brewage)".daksa -*dassa (δάξα)Epirotic GreekHesychius: <δάξα>· θάλασσα. Ἠπειρῶται
Regarded to be of Illyrian origin.
May be connected to the Illyrian tribe of the Dassareti and the Chaonian Greek tribe of the Dexaroi (see table below)"sea"
Other lemmas
Other proposed lemmas are:
Agruvium "along the coast between Risinum and Butua": IE *aĝr-; cf. Skt. ájraḥ "pasture, field", Lat. ager, Gk. agrós, Goth. akrs Bindus "river god"; Old Ir. banne "drop", Skt. bindú, vindú "drops, gob, spot", possibly Lat. fōns Bandusiae and Lusit. Bandua.Witczak, K. T. (2006). "Two Phonological Curiosities of the Thracian Language". In: Linguistique Balkanique 45(3), p. 491. Bosona "Bosna river", literally "running water": IE *bheg-, bhog- "to run"; Alb. dë-boj "to chase, to drive away", Rus. bĕg "running; (work)flow", Old Ch. Slav. bĕžati and Rus. bĕžatj "to flee, run; to work, to flow", Lith. bėgti "to flee, to run", Gk. phébesthai "to flee", phóbos "fear", Eng. beck "brook, stream", Middle Ir. búal "flowing water", Hindi bhāg "to flee" mons Bulsinus "Büžanim hill": IE *bʰl̥kos;Katicic, Radoslav. Ancient Languages of the Balkans. Part 1. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 2012 . p. 174. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111568874 cf. Eng. balk, Alb. bligë "forked piece of wood", Middle Ir. blog "piece, fragment", Lat. fulcrum "bedpost", Gk. phálanx "trunk, log", Lith. balžiena "crossbar", Serb. blazína "roof beam", Skt. bhuríjāu "cart arms" Derbanoí, Anderva: IE *derw; cf. Eng. tree, Alb. dru "wood", Old Ch. Slav. drĕvo "tree", Rus. dérevo "tree, wood", Welsh derw "oak", Gk. dóry "wood, spear", drýs "oak, tree", Lith. derva "pine wood", Hitt. taru "tree, wood', Thrac. taru "spear", Skt. dru "tree, wood", daru "wood, log" Dizēros, Andízētes: IE *digh; cf. Eng. dough, Gk. teîkhos "wall", Lat. fingere "to shape, mold", Old Ir. com-od-ding "he builds, erects", Old Rus. dĕža "kneading trough", Arm. dez "heap", Skt. dehah "body, form" Domator, personal name; cf. Old Ir. damnaid "he binds, breaks a horse", dam "ox", Eng. tame, dialectal Germ. zamer "ox not under the yoke", Alb. dem "young bull", Lat. domāre "to tame", domitor "tamer", Gk. dámnēmi "to break in", dámalos "calf", Skt. dāmyáti "he is tame; he tames", Rus. odomashnivat' "to tame"