# Etymology of PURA (Turkic) and BURAK (Arabic)



## ancalimon

I've been thinking about this name lately. First of all I'm not saying that these words are related since it's not possible. I'm just interested in their etymology.

In old Turkic culture, the name of the "spirit horse" which carried the shaman to the doors of the heaven(s) was named "PURA". The shamans' holy weapons were bow and arrow.  It was believed that a shaman's essence: core:best part (OZ) rose to the Heavens drawing spirals like a smoke-water. (just like a human soul entered a human body according to their beliefs).
For example, during burials, a Turk's horse was also sacrificed so that he had a spare "spirit horse". Sometimes this horse would be dressed like a deer; Probably this practice differed among different ethnics.

Now I think there is a similar story in Islam... Prophet Muhammad rises to speak with Allah on a horse named "BURAK"

Unfortunately I don't know the etymology of Turkic PURA.  The only two words I can relate "PURA" with are



> Proto-Turkic: *bur(a)-
> Meaning: to twist, wind round




and



> Proto-Turkic: *bur-uk
> 
> Meaning: 1 dust 2 smoke 3 to curl (of smoke) 4 to choke (in smoke) 5 to blow (of a snow-storm) 6 to produce smoke puffs 7 soot



(maybe related with ancient Cult of Fire: Burning a body)

I guess the shaman inhaled something before he traveled to door of heaven (traveling beyond it and eventually to Tengri was prohibited to kams) and then he rode PURA. Maybe it was simply a spiraling smoke I don't know.

starling.rinet.ru tells me this:



> Proto-Turkic: *bura (?)
> 
> Altaic etymology: Altaic etymology
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Meaning: soul of a sacrificial animal (horse)
> Russian meaning: душа жертвенного животного (коня)
> Khakassian: pura 'picture of a male maral on a shaman drum'
> Oyrat: pura (dial.) 'sacrificial animal'
> Comments: The  Oyr. word is usually identified with bura 'camel' < PT *bugra; the  absence of vowel length (*būra would be normally expected) is, however,  baffling and could indicate a different origin of the Oyr. and Khak.  words. Cf. perhaps also Yak. burgunas 'young cow, cow without calves'.


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## Spectre scolaire

There is no point in making a mountain out of a molehill :

Turkish puro and Greek πούρο, both meaning “cigar”, come from 


puro tabaco de Havana​ 

The Spanish adjective puro, “pure”, has become what we call a “stranded adjective”, i.e. the noun being suppressed, it has “loaded”, as it were, its semantic information on to the adjective which normally “only” functions as a qualifier. 

But isn’t the qualifier the very essential [sc. information] in this case ? 

With all respect, the _Güneş Dil Teorisi_, see Wikipedia s.v. Sun Language Theory, is pure nonsense. Would _ancalimon_ be a latter-day adherent ?


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## ancalimon

Spectre scolaire said:


> There is no point in making a mountain out of a molehill :
> 
> Turkish puro and Greek πούρο, both meaning “cigar”, come from
> puro tabaco de Havana​
> 
> The Spanish adjective puro, “pure”, has become what we call a “stranded adjective”, i.e. the noun being suppressed, it has “loaded”, as it were, its semantic information on to the adjective which normally “only” functions as a qualifier.
> 
> But isn’t the qualifier the very essential [sc. information] in this case ?
> 
> With all respect, the _Güneş Dil Teorisi_, see Wikipedia s.v. Sun Language Theory, is pure nonsense. Would _ancalimon_ be a latter-day adherent ?



What do all of these have anything to do with what I've asked?


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## Abu Rashid

ancalimon said:
			
		

> Now I think there is a similar story in Islam... Prophet Muhammad rises to speak with Allah on a horse named "BURAK"



The Arabic word is البراق (al-buraaq), and I've always thought it came from the common Semitic root for lightening b-r-q, given that al-buraaq moved at lightening speed.


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## ancalimon

Abu Rashid said:


> The Arabic word is البراق (al-buraaq), and I've always thought it came from the common Semitic root for lightening b-r-q, given that al-buraaq moved at lightening speed.



Than how come ancient Turkic people have the same concept with almost the same name. Could there be a problem with the Arabic etymology? Still the Turkic name also could be related with lightning as well if its etymology can be made clear. It sometimes feels like people "regard" Turkic as an isolated language and it doesn't make any sense to me.

Maybe it's so much complicated that this phenomena was real. Who knows.


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## berndf

As far as I can see, it is an unjustified presuposition that the concepts are the same. The name of the prophet's horse may well be motivated by its speed alone having nothing to do with the fact that it takes him to God.


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## WadiH

It's not that far-fetched.  When was the earliest date that the word was attested in Arabic?  It certainly doesn't appear in the Quran.


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## berndf

Wadi Hanifa said:


> It's not that far-fetched.  When was the earliest date that the word was attested in Arabic?  It certainly doesn't appear in the Quran.


In Semitic languages you find B-R-Q = _lightning _e.g. in the Torah, Exodus 19:16:
ויהי ביום השלישי בהית הבקר ויהי קלת ו*ברק*ים וענן כבד על־ההר וקל שפר חזק מאד ויחרד כל־העם אשר במחנה׃
_On the morning of the third day there was thunder and *lightning*, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled._
An occurance that old (the first codification of the Torah was probably in the 7th c. BC) renders the possibility of a Turkic loan rather slim.


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## Abu Rashid

I think he means al-buraaq, not the word for lightening. The word for lightening exists in the Qur'an, and I'm sure Wadi Hanifa is aware of that, so he must mean al-buraaq, which is only mentioned in Hadith.


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## berndf

I see. So you say, the name might be derived from the Turkic/Persian name. Possible.


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## ancalimon

Ancient Turks believed that there was some kind of obstacle between MiddleWorld and the UpperWord. It was thought to be some kind of river of time but there would be a shallow threshold there and the spirit horses you had would help you pass this obstacle through that threshold.

Today in Turkey (I think this one is related to Islam) we have a belief that the more cattle you sacrifice and give the meat to the poor, the easier it would be to pass a bridge called the Sırat Bridge over this obstacle because those cattle would help you pass the bridge.

Does this Buraq have any meanings in Arabic or maybe Hebrew besides lightning like "a bridge" or "a threshold"?   or even "road","passage","connection" or "nexus"?


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## Abu Rashid

berndf said:


> I see. So you say, the name might be derived from the Turkic/Persian name. Possible.



I can't see how my statements would've lead you to that conclusion.

I have no idea about the Turkish name, but judging by the spelling, it could possibly be borrowed from Arabic words based on the roots b-r-q or b-r-k.


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## berndf

Abu Rashid said:


> I can't see how my statements would've lead you to that conclusion.


Not yours but Wadi Hanifa's which you defended.


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## Abu Rashid

berndf said:


> Not yours but Wadi Hanifa's which you defended.



Replace defended with clarified. I merely pointed out that it seemed he was stating buraaq (winged beast that moves at lightening speed) was not in the Qur'an (not in itself a reason to suggest it's borrowed), not barq (lightening).

My opinion was mentioned above: _"I've always thought it (al-buraaq) came from the common Semitic root for lightening b-r-q, given that al-buraaq moved at lightening speed."_


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## berndf

Abu Rashid said:


> Replace defended with clarified.


I see.


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## إسكندراني

buraaQ and SiraaT are distinct conceptually and linguistically.
البراق has connotations only of 'light-speed' (not bridges), for example there is an intercity coach company is called البراق.


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## ancalimon

إسكندراني said:


> buraaQ and SiraaT are distinct conceptually and linguistically.
> البراق has connotations only of 'light-speed' (not bridges), for example there is an intercity coach company is called البراق.



What about sürat (Arabic loan in Turkish meaning speed) ?


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## Abu Rashid

ancalimon said:


> What about sürat (Arabic loan in Turkish meaning speed) ?



The word is spelled سرعة (pronounced sur3ah) as you can see, nothing remotely like any of these words. Ancalimon do you understand that Turkish spellings of Arabic loanwords do not really represent any kinds of similarities between words in most cases?


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## yavuzotar

With all due respect may I make correction on a minor detail:

You write: "Proto-Turkic: *bur(a)-
Meaning: to twist, wind round" 			 		

"bu:r-", with long "u", in Old Turkish means 'to steam; to give off scent, fragrance; to be fragrant'. It is a deverbal noun from the root "bu:" meaning 'fog, steam' which still exist in modern Turkish as 'buğu'.  The deverbal noun "burun" (nose), and the hendiaduoin "buram buram" derives from "bu:r-", both are presently in use in modern Turkish. Another derivative, "burıg", meaning 'kötü kokan, hoş olmayan kokulu, bozulmuş nesne" is also used in modern Turkish as "buruk", but the meaning applying to taste rather than smell. 

'to twist, wind round' is expressed by the Old Turkish word "bür-" (hence the modern Turkish "bürümce(ü)k"). Later on, the "ü" changed into "u" and in modern Turkish "bur-" acquired the sense you mention.

Besat regards.


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## er targyn

The nose 'burun' might come from to smell 'bur-', but not from steam, fog 'būg'.


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