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#Ossetian word of the day!
Ossetian ард ard ('oath') < Proto-Indo-Iranian ʜr̥tá- ('truth, true, proper') < Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥tó- ('put together, assembled')
Cognates include -𐬀𐬴𐬀 Avestan aṣ̌a-, Vedic ऋ॒त- r̥tá-, Old Persian 𐎠𐎼𐎫- arta-, ...
Ossetian ард ard ('oath') < Proto-Indo-Iranian ʜr̥tá- ('truth, true, proper') < Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥tó- ('put together, assembled')
Cognates include -𐬀𐬴𐬀 Avestan aṣ̌a-, Vedic ऋ॒त- r̥tá-, Old Persian 𐎠𐎼𐎫- arta-, ...
... Old Armenian արդ ard ('shape, order'), Latin ᴀʀᴛᴠ(s) artu(s) ('fitted, strict') etc.
The derivation here is more-or-less regular. While Proto r̥- gives ær- in general in Ossetian, it lengthens to ar- before a (synchronically) final consonant (cluster). The final -d is ...
The derivation here is more-or-less regular. While Proto r̥- gives ær- in general in Ossetian, it lengthens to ar- before a (synchronically) final consonant (cluster). The final -d is ...
... unexpected, but there are Digoron dialects (according to Cheung) where арт art occurs.
The earliest record of the root in what might be called Ossetian occurs in an Alanic toponym. The city of Caffa or Theodosia (Crimean Tatar Кефе Kefe, Russian Феодосия Feodosija) in ...
The earliest record of the root in what might be called Ossetian occurs in an Alanic toponym. The city of Caffa or Theodosia (Crimean Tatar Кефе Kefe, Russian Феодосия Feodosija) in ...
... the east of the Crimean peninsula is mentioned in the 2nd c. “Periplus of the Black Sea” (Greek Περίπλους τοῦ Εὐξείνου Πόντου) a being also known to locals as ’Αρδαβδα Ardavda — which is taken as the Alanic compound *ard- + *avd- ('7'). The author translates the name ...
... as Greek ἑπτά-θεός (h)eptá-ϑeós ('seven-god'), which is how the interpretation of ’Αρδαβδα Ardavda as possibly being Alanic is justified [cf. Ossetian авд avd ('7') < Sarmatian αϐδ- avd- < Proto-Iranian *haptá < Proto-Indo-Iranian *saptá < Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥].
It's not immediately clear why ’αρδ- ard- is translated as 'god(s)' but that might be a figurative semantic extension of 'truth' (as in Sanskrit, Avestan etc.) or 'oath' (as in modern Ossetian) specifically for this one toponym.
Unsurprisingly, ард ard occurs multiple times ...
Unsurprisingly, ард ard occurs multiple times ...
... in the Ossetian mythologial corpus, the Nart Sagas. For instance, after being defeated by the Nart hero Soslan, the Wheel of Balsæg swears this oath in exchange for its life:
Хуыцауӕй дын ард хӕрын, куыд «Балсӕджы Цалх» мӕхи нал схондзынӕн, хондзынӕн мӕхи «Сосланы Цалх».
Хуыцауӕй дын ард хӕрын, куыд «Балсӕджы Цалх» мӕхи нал схондзынӕн, хондзынӕн мӕхи «Сосланы Цалх».
By God, I swear to you that I shall no longer call myself “Balsæg's Wheel”, I shall call myself “Soslan's Wheel”.
The phrase ард хӕрын ard xærɨn, literally 'to eat (an) oath', is better rendered in English as 'to swear an oath'. This is a pretty common idiom, I imagine, cf. ...
The phrase ард хӕрын ard xærɨn, literally 'to eat (an) oath', is better rendered in English as 'to swear an oath'. This is a pretty common idiom, I imagine, cf. ...
... Hindi-Urdu सौंह खाना سوںہ کھانا sa͜͠uh kʰānā, Persian سوگند خوردن so͜ugand xordan etc.
Credits:
The picture of an Ossetian "eating an oath" is a screenshot taken from ...
Credits:
The picture of an Ossetian "eating an oath" is a screenshot taken from ...
