Etymology

Tocharian

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Today it means: Of or relating to the Tochari (people of Bactria). Full definition →

Latin Tocharī ← Ancient Greek Τόχαροι ← Indo-Iranian
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The story

  1. Sanskrit · derived fromतुखार
  2. Indo-Iranian · derived from
  3. Ancient Greek · derived fromΤόχαροι“Tochari/Tukharas (an ancient people of Bactria)”
  4. Latin · borrowed fromTocharī
  5. English todayTocharian

From Latin Tocharī + -ian, the first element deriving from Ancient Greek Τόχαροι (Tókharoi, “Tochari/Tukharas (an ancient people of Bactria)”), plural of Τόχαρος (Tókharos), probably from an Indo-Iranian source (Old Persian [script needed] (tuxāri-), Khotanese [script needed] (ttahvāra)); compare Sanskrit तुखार (tukhāra). When manuscripts in an unknown Indo-European language were discovered in the early 20th century in the Tarim Basin, scholars linked them to the Tochari/Tukharas mentioned in ancient sources. As a result, the language was called "Tocharian". However, most scholars now believe this identification was incorrect.

Words from the same roots

LatinTocharī all →

Tochari

Ancient GreekΤόχαροι all →

Tochari

Sanskritतुखार all →

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.