On the Problem of Etymologizing the Ichthyonyms of the Russian Dialect with the Stem ar-/arg- ‘Minnow’
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6119-2025-3-70-79
A lexical group of words with the stem ar-/arg- (arka, agysh, argan, etc.) was recorded in the Russian dialects of the Perm, Kirov, and Sverdlovsk regions, while no equivalents were found in other regions. According to the available etymology, they go back to the Komi word ar ‘malek, fry’, which seems quite convincing given the structural and semantic similarity of the Komi and Russian equivalents and the area in which they occur. However, the version appears incomplete, as the material of the Komi and Russian dialects has not yet been fully considered, although the analysis allows for other sources. The study aims to test the hypothesis further and close the gaps as much as possible. The material for the study was taken from various lexicographical sources: Dialectal, regional, thematic, etymological, etc. Dictionaries of the Komi and Russian languages, dictionaries and scientific works dealing with ichthyonymic vocabulary, description of fish species, habitat in the region, etc. The methods and techniques of areal linguistics, comparative and comparative historical linguistics were used. The result of the study is: 1) it is confirmed that the Russian ichthyonyms are related to the common Komi word ar ‘malek, fish fry’; it is shown that under the conditions of close contacts between Russians and Komi-Permians the forms arik, arka, arga ‘malyavka’ were formed, which underwent further formal and semantic transformation under the conditions of dominant Russian influence: argysh, argish, argashik, arishka , etc. ‘small river fish’, ‘minnow’; 2) it was found that the epicenter of innovation was the Upper Kama region, the zone of the closest KomiPermian-Russian contacts, from where the contamination forms penetrated both the Komi-Zyryan and the Russian dialects of the more remote areas of the Perm territory and other regions; 3) a new version is proposed about the second possible origin of the Russian ichthyonyms, which is supported by comparable material from the Turkic languages (e.g., tat. argon, argan/ argan balyk ‘salmon’), ichthyological sources from the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX century indirectly testify to this.
Keywords: ichthyonym, etymology, Northern Russian dialects, Komi languages, language contacts, borrowing
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