Étymologie et usages du feu (krak) en arménien classique (Etymology and Uses of 'Fire' (krak) in Classical Armenian)
Arzoumanov, Jean · 2024
Reassesses how the two Classical Armenian words for 'fire', krak and howr, differ in usage. A close reading of Eghishe's History of Vardan shows krak in distinct contexts, especially connected with Zoroastrian fire worship, a distinction visible in the Buzandaran as well. Reviewing krak and its cognates in the Armenian Bible reveals semantic overlap, including an instance where krak means 'embers'. On that basis Arzoumanov proposes a Middle Iranian etymon for Armenian krak and its Georgian counterpart, reconstructed via a Middle Persian word for 'oven', with a semantic shift from 'oven' to 'fire' plausibly in a Zoroastrian ritual setting where fire altars resembled ovens.
Read the publication ↗Citation
Arzoumanov, Jean 2024. Étymologie et usages du feu (krak) en arménien classique (Etymology and Uses of 'Fire' (krak) in Classical Armenian). Revue des Études Arméniennes, Vol. 42 (2023-2024), pp. 77–98 (Peeters); DOI 10.2143/REA.42.0.3293638. https://doi.org/10.2143/REA.42.0.3293638
What this offers a reader
A model of how Armenian etymology is done properly: through texts, not dictionaries.
Case study in Armenian etymology and Iranian contact worked out through Classical Armenian texts.
Two words for fire, and the Zoroastrian world buried inside one of them.
Why Classical Armenian had two different words for fire.
Topics
Related in the repository
Citation checked against the publisher's record on .