Reading the article by Andrey Kadykchansky about Tamerlane, I involuntarily thought about the name of this ruler. The option that is offered everywhere does not say anything about the "great Tamerlane". But this is because no one went into the secrets of this name, probably known to those who christened the "ruler of Tartaria" by the name "Timur". We are told that it is Turkic and means “iron”. Other options: Temir, Demir, Damir. Yes, "iron", but what does that mean? Now I'm going to show you what really lies behind the inconspicuous nickname.
From Wikipedia:
The female version - Damira - according to the site about names and their meanings tatarisem.ru, means: “iron; figuratively: strong"
And this is closer to the meaning. After all, apparently, the name is not Turkic at all. It has its echoes in Sanskrit, in European languages, and in Russian. And everything there is much more interesting than the flat Turkic "iron".
Sanskrit:
ताम्र - tamra - copper, copper-colored, copper vessel, darkening, oppression.
तिमिर - timir - darkness, gloomy, partial blindness
Copper is comparable to iron, since, for example, in Greek myths everything metallic was called "copper" (according to the Liddell-Scott Lexicon).
Promotional video:
With oppression here, too, everything is clear, since iron, as mentioned above, is strong, that is, it refers to the "fastening" factors. That is why, for example, in Slavic songs blacksmiths forge a wedding - they fasten a new family. Oppression is also consolidation within the framework, submission, deprivation of liberties ("Violent restriction in rights or in actions; oppression, submission to one's will, power" - Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova. TF Efremov. 2000).
तम - tama - night, darkness; the most desirable, anxiety, longing, longing, suffering. Also used in the sense of "many", and in complex words is the part denoting the highest or superlative degree.
तमस् - tamas - ignorant, error, illusion ("eclipse" of the mind), darkness, gloom
Actually, like ours, "darkness" is both darkness and a huge amount. Let's first turn to the aforementioned meaning of "TOMIT", which is the root of "darkness":
Also, "torment" is to keep in confinement, in captivity (Wiktionary)
Let us turn to Vasmer's etymological dictionary:
So, we see various allusions to "death" in its purely earthly sense - immobility, numbness. This also includes all drunken states that deprive us of clarity and liveliness. And all this is perfectly supported by the Serbo-Croatian "aftermath - suppress". From which it becomes clear that in this case "torment, suffering" is just "suppression".
Actually, longing is just keeping the object in some uncomfortable state, i.e. keep in suspense for a while, keep tight, not letting you relax, not giving free rein.
And “strong iron” is also about some stiffness. In both cases, we see a kind of oppression. As in the example with darkening, eclipse is the suppression of free light, restraining its spread. As well as a drunken state, it is the enslavement of the mind, as well as the Indian "suffocation" cited by Vasmer - deprivation of air, squeezing. Cell, prison.
Therefore, the meaning of the "set" here is not just a "large number", but namely SUPPRESSION, DOMINANT. That is why, in the composition of complex words, "tama" gives precisely the highest, excellent (EXCELLENT) degree, since it brings the quality to a dominant level, OVERSCAPING the rest.
This reflection brings us close to the English "tame" - "tame, tame, train, humble, soften, cultivate, submissive." Various European forms of this word: tame, tome, tam, tom, tamm, tahm, zahm, tamur.
It is very difficult not to see in this word the same meaning as "Dominate":
Dominus - "ruler, master, owner, master." The word originates from "domus, दम, δόμος", that is, our "home". At the same time, Old English "timber" is "building, building" (now it has become a material for building)
दामन् - daman - "belt, cord, wreath, rope, shackles" - all symbols of "connectedness, constraint together." Also, this word is translated as "give, allocate, share, giver, gift", which fully corresponds to the role of the ancient ruler, as a giver of benefits, which binds his subjects to him (recall the Germanic epithet of the kings in the sagas "ring setter" or the famous epic feasts of Prince Vladimir) …
दम - lady - punishment, taming, submission, self-control, self-restraint, house, wreath (you can get some understanding of these symbols in the article about "heroes")
(All these words make me want to go into the study of the role of the "Demon" in mythology …)
That, in fact, is all. We see that the House is something built, which means "cultured", that is, they took wild material and gave it a shape and a new purpose (which it did not have before), made it work for its own benefit, domesticated it, tamed it. The house itself, as a social structure, is a cell, a “cage”, which has its own rules and traditions, duties that burden all the “household members”, to a certain extent “oppressing, suppressing them”.
The house "fetters", holds the family, clan, clan together. The interests of the whole house dominate the interests of its individual inhabitants. And, as we know, the House is not only a “building”, but in general a native place, a homeland. Within the homeland, there are also their own rules and obligations, which are above the will of individual members.
Thus, inside the House, everything is "iron" held together by "tormenting" responsibility.
And this image lies in the name "Timur" - the dominant, suppressor, oppressor. BUT! This is not a negative meaning, but a neutral one. After all, all these iron frames lead to the cultivation, taming of wild morals.
From which we can conclude that the name of the eastern ruler Tamerlane (even if he is a mythical character) is not an inborn name, but given by society, possibly already "retroactively". Or during his lifetime, when the role of the Builder of a new society has already been finally entrenched in him.
But who gave that name? The above analysis shows that in European languages, single-root words are complex semantic constructions “house”, “taming”, “dominant” - this is already a “box” of our word. While Sanskrit gives bricks to this box in the form of figurative elements: from "darkness" to "belt". Russian is their bonding composition. And the Turkic … and what the Turkic? It only contains one of the metaphorical images. Only one…
Let me remind you that recently I found the name of "Tartary" itself among the Sanskrit words, but even in that case the lexicon does not give a complete answer, although it draws a distinct image, which is confirmed by the geography of that area and myths. And again they did without the Turkic language.
It says something, but it doesn't mean anything until enough material has been accumulated. I cannot say that Sanskrit was widespread throughout Tartary, because 1) a more or less deep understanding of such words is possible only when immersed in the level of the primitive language, Indo-European, so to speak; 2) we see echoes of the proto-language in the east - in India, and in the west - in Europe, Russia, in the middle - in Mother Siberia - empty, like on January 1st on the street: there are many "tribal" dialects of some incomprehensible -Finnish "group and the notorious" Turkic "languages. How can you explain this failure? It's exhausting to listen to disasters. 3) Sanskrit itself does not fully satisfy the status of a “proto-language,” 4) there is no evidence at all that Tartary is some kind of pre-country with a pre-language. Pra is not a toy for you. Well, we will accumulate information, especially since in an age when history is recognized as a lie, instead of producing a new lie, the only true source of information remains the Words …
Author: peremyshlin